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AFCON 2023 SEMI-FINAL: IT’S TIME FOR THE SUPER EAGLES TO PROVE EVERYONE WRONG

The Football Castle > Blog > Features > AFCON 2023 semi-final: It’s time for the
Super Eagles to prove everyone wrong
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While the rest of the big teams have crashed out of the tournament, Nigeria are
going strong as each 2023 Africa Cup of Nations match passes.

They missed out on qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and their form
leading up to this tournament left them with many doubters to prove wrong. 

Now, the Super Eagles find themselves as the highest-ranked side remaining in
Ivory Coast and a semi-final date with South Africa offers a path to the
showpiece final on February 11.

The three-time AFCON winners are in the last four of this competition for the
16th time in their last 19 appearances to prove that they know how to navigate
the knockout rounds of this tournament. There would certainly be less nerves and
fear of crumbling under the pressure.  

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The manner in which Nigeria dispatched Angola, who are ranked 117th in the world
and exceeded expectations to reach the last eight, shows that they are focused
on the task at hand. 

A surging run by Moses Simon down the left wing was followed by a calm pass to
the arriving Ademola Lookman who slammed the ball high into the net in the 41st
minute. With the lead secured, Nigeria came out for the second half keen to
control the game which they could have won by more had Victor Osimhen’s
75th-minute header not been ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee
(VAR).

Notably, Jose Peseiro’s backline has been unbreached since he switched to a
three-man defence which has now kept four successive shutouts. Stanley Nwabali
has also been a revelation between the sticks as he entered the history books
with a fourth consecutive clean sheet in a major tournament.

That takes the Chippa United goalkeeper alongside Best Ogedegbe (1980) and Ike
Shorunmu (2002) as the only men with four shutouts in a single AFCON for the
Super Eagles. He has a unique chance to outrightly break the record in the
remaining two matches. 

The 27-year-old is excited to be competing against the country where he plays
his club football: 

“Both Cape Verde and South Africa are good teams, but I want to play against
South Africa,” Nwabali told reporters.

“I really wish to see how my defence will fare against them.

“Yes, most of their players know me, and I also know them.”

Elsewhere, Nigeria have been rather modest in the goalscoring department but
that is not for the lack of scoring chances, many of which have either been
squandered or ruled out for infringements. 


GAME OF SLIM MARGINS

They nevertheless possess one of the most fearsome attacking departments on the
continent and will be more pleased with their resolute defensive displays which
always make a difference in knockout football. 

In Victor Osimhen, there is a prolific forward who has stood out despite one
goal and an assist in five games due to his relentless hard work, selflessness
and physical presence upfront. As the team continues to grow into the
tournament, there is no doubt that the African Player of The Year will immensely
contribute to Nigeria’s fortunes. 

The Super Eagles will however come face-to-face with Ronwen Williams in the
Bafana Bafana goal following his stunning display against Cape Verde in the
quarter-final. After a couple of important saves in the 120 minutes, Williams
saved four penalties in the shootout to qualify the team for their first AFCON
semi-final since 2000.



The South African defence have also kept four clean sheets so far but they have
lost one game where they conceded two goals. They would thus be scratching their
heads as to how best to limit Osimhen, but necessary caution must be paid to
Simon’s trickery and Lookman’s devastating movement. 

Ronwen Williams immediately after his heroic saves helped Bafana Bafana to the
AFCON semi-final.

There is enough pace and adaptability in the Nigeria frontline while the
midfield has been working tirelessly to help out in both phases of play.
Humility and focus are required to navigate this tricky tournament in order to
go all the way in Ivory Coast.  

Any football game against South Africa has a lot riding on it due to the
socio-cultural differences between both nations. Indeed, ‘The Amapiano Derby’ is
a rivalry that goes beyond the football pitch.

For 90 to 120 minutes on Wednesday evening, both sets of players will be going
into battle for a right to compete for African football’s biggest prize.
However, it is Nigeria who have to step up to their pedigree as regular
performers at this level. 

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Betway Nigeria - Premium sports betting
Bolu Alabi-Hundeyin
February 4, 2024
Features, International Football, News
Tags: AFCON 2023 ,Nigeria National team ,Nigeria vs South Africa ,South Africa
national team



BOLU ALABI-HUNDEYIN



Chief Editor of the Football Castle, Bolu Alabi-Hundeyin is a football junkie
and writer of the beautiful game.



https://thefootballcastle.com
 * Next Nigeria must thrive in the AFCON 2023 knockout stage




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2023 Africa Cup of Nations: Nigeria must prove everyone wrong
thefootballcastle.com
Nigeria take on South Africa in a tasty clash in the Africa Cup of Nations
semi-final. Here is a preview
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