Following a jittery start to their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 campaign, the Super Eagles of Nigeria soared into the semi-finals in impressive fashion to send out a strong signal of being title contenders.
The three-time champions face South Africa in Bouake on Wednesday at 17h00 in what promises to be an action packed encounter.
Group A – Finished Second place
Drawn in a tough Group A consisting of tournament hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
The Super Eagles finished second in their group after worrying 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea saw them bounce back against the Elephants with a narrow 1-0 win and a similar scoreline against Guinea-Bissau which earned them a place in the round of 16.
Round of 16 (Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon)
The round of 16 saw Nigeria getting into rhythm and hitting full speed. An interesting tie between them and Cameroon saw the red-hot Ademola Lookman finding the back of the net twice for his side to send the Indomitable Lions crashing out of the competition.
Quarter-Finals (Nigeria 1-0 Angola)
The quarter finals were not so much of a high scoring match for the Super Eagles as they narrowly edged a resilient Angola 1-0 in Abidjan. While they may not have found the back of the net more than once, the three-time champions demonstrated true champions’ mentality with their impressive game management ability.
Semi-Final (Nigeria vs South Africa)
Another big assignment awaits them against their old-time foes who they eliminated at this stage of the competition in the 2000 edition in Uyo.
The Super Eagles face a confident Bafana Bafana side who a yearning for continental glory with their last taste of continental success dating back to 1996.
Source:CAFonline
