By Michael Madyira
Nigeria’s remarkable resurrection and Bafana Bafana’s improvement in form at the Africa Cup of Nations have stirred excitement ahead of the two side’s semi-final showdown on Wednesday.
They meet at the Stade de Bouake de la Paix as the Super Eagles seek to end their 11-year Afcon drought while Bafana last won it in 1996.
It is a much-anticipated fixture after Nigeria started the tournament on a slow note with a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea.
But they recovered to win their last four games without conceding a goal, including beating hosts Ivory Coast and eliminating Cameroon.
“We are buzzing and excited to get in this position, it wasn’t easy considering the work we have put in,” said defender Cavin Bassey.
“We are looking forward to it [sem-final]. We know it is not going to be easy. We have to focus and keep doing what we have been doing.”
Nigeria’s form has, for now, saved the head of coach Jose Peseiro who arrived in Ivory Coast with his job seemingly unsafe.
What could also worry Bafana is that the Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman is in top form with three goals in their last two matches.
But South Africa could draw inspiration from their recovery after starting the tournament with a 2-0 defeat to Mali.
They picked themselves up with a 4-0 victory over Namibia before drawing 0-0 with Tunisia.
Hugo Broos’ men then eliminated Africa’s number-one team Morocco at the Round of 16 stage and then dumped Cape Verde out in the quarter-finals.
Nigeria and Bafana last met at the 2019 Afcon edition at the quarter-final phase where the Super Eagles knocked out South Africa.
Pictured above: Nigeria players Alex Iwobi, William Troost-Ekong and Ademola Lookman celebrate the latter’s goal against Angola
Image source: Ademola Lookman
