The two semi final matches of the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations will be played on Wednesday in Bouake and Abidjan.
Nigeria will take on South Africa while hosts Cote d’Ivoire will play DR Congo in the other last four game.
Below are the five things to look out for
Battle of the shot-stoppers
An interesting goalkeeper battle will ensue in Bouake. Stanley Nwabali has only conceded one goal with the Super Eagles enroute to the three-time champions to the semi-finals.
Ironically, Nwabali plies his trade in South Africa for Chippa United and has faced Bafana Bafana shot stopper, Ronwen Williams before at club level.
High in confidence following his heroic displays against Cape Verde that saw him make history by saving four spot-kicks, Williams will be hoping to continue in his rich vein of form.
Ademola Lookman chasing the golden boot
Despite being knocked out of the competition, Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue Lopez still tops the goalscoring charts of the competition with five goals.
Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman has been enjoying a rich vein of form that is accompanied by three goals that bring him into contention for the golden boot.
Bouake bids farewell
The Stade de la Paix in Boake hosts its last TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire match after playing host to Group D matches and the previous two knockout rounds.
A number of exciting matches took place at the venue and were made memorable by the highly vocal and colourful fans of Bouake who are expected to create a great atmosphere for one last time on Wednesday.
DR Congo looking at causing a major upset
Cote d’Ivoire will be looking at painting a different picture from the humiliating 4-0 thrashing suffered at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe at the hands of Equatorial Guinea in the group stages.
They face determined DR Congo side ready to cause another upset in front of what will be a sold-out 60 000 capacity arena on Wednesday.
New finalists guaranteed
The TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 has seen a number of upsets.
The all four semi-finalists in this year’s edition were not in the last edition’s semi-final which guarantees two new finalists after the semi-finals round on Wednesday. It remains to be seen as to who will be the two finalists.
Source: CAFonline.
