With its defence having been breached only once after five matches in the Africa Cup of Nations, while considering their vast superiority in the record of previous encounters, Nigeria’s Super Eagles are the clear favourites going into Wednesday’s semi-final clash against South Africa in Bouake, Cote d’Ivoire.
The match will be the 15th clash between both countries at full international level. Nigeria have won seven of the previous 14 matches, with five of those matches drawn and two won by South Africa.
Apart from having to deal with the incredible energy and pace of Africa Player of the Year Victor Osimhen, another major problem that the Bafana Bafana will be up against are wing-terrors Ademola Lookman and Moses Simon.
Lookman has scored three goals in the tournament so far, plus assisting Osimhen to score the equaliser against Equatorial Guinea, while Simon (with two assists) can be entirely unpredictable for any defence, with both switching wings at will.
A resilient defence, marshalled by on-field captain William Ekong, has been able to provide all the answers to a number of tricky questions by the opposition in their last four matches and looks as solid as the Berlin Wall at the height of its glory.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, who plays his club football in South Africa, said he would have a sweet day stopping all efforts by the Bafana Bafana and then seeing them shunted to the third-place match.
“I know them and they know me. It will be an interesting evening in Bouake” Super Eagles shot-stopper Nwabali said.
Defenders Calvin Bassey, Semi Ajayi, Zaidu Sanusi and Olaoluwa Aina are the other pegs in that rearguard, and the attack-minded Aina offers even more problems for the 1996 champions.
Ranked 42nd in the world and 6th in Africa (as against South Africa’s global ranking of 66th and 12th in Africa), the Super Eagles are unbeaten in 10 competitive matches over the past 10 months.
Nigeria is aiming for a fourth continental title, while the South Africa are aiming for a second triumph, following their win on home soil 28 years ago.
The first meeting between both countries was on 10th October 1992, when Richard Owubokiri opened the floodgates of goals in a 4-0 win for Nigeria at the National Stadium, Lagos. Rashidi Yekini scored a brace. It was a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. The return leg at the FBN Stadium in Johannesburg ended goalless.
Nigeria then beat South Africa 2-0 in the semi-finals of the 2000 AFCON they co-hosted with Ghana, with Tijani Babangida scoring both goals. Four years later, a Super Eagles team wounded by Morocco in its first match, thrashed South Africa 4-0 in a group phase match in Monastir, Tunisia.
Four years ago in the AFCON quarter-finals, the Super Eagles edged the Bafana Bafana 2-1 in Cairo, with the goals scored by Samuel Chukwueze and William Ekong.
Both players will be in Bouake with Ekong leading the squad on the field and Chukwueze likely to play some part in the proceedings.
History of Nigeria Vs South Africa
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A whole vibe you would love to watch! #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | @NGSuperEagles | @BafanaBafana pic.twitter.com/0h3bPr9w1i
— CAF (@CAF_Online) February 5, 2024
10th October 1992: Nigeria 4-0 South Africa (1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Lagos)
16th Jan 1993: South Africa 0-0 Nigeria (1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Johannesburg)
10th February 2000: Nigeria 2-0 South Africa (AFCON semi-final, Lagos)
31st January 2004: Nigeria 4-0 South Africa (AFCON finals, Monastir, Tunisia)
17th November 2004: South Africa 2-1 Nigeria (International Friendly, Durban)
1st June 2008: Nigeria 2-0 South Africa (2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Abuja)
6th Sept 2008: South Africa 0-1 Nigeria (2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Port Elizabeth)
14th August 2013: South Africa 0-2 Nigeria (International Friendly, Johannesburg)
10th September 2014: South Africa 0-0 Nigeria (2015 AFCON qualifier, Johannesburg)
19th November 2014: Nigeria 2-2 South Africa (2015 AFCON qualifier, Uyo)
29th March 2015: South Africa 1-1 Nigeria (International Friendly, Durban)
10th June 2017: Nigeria 0-2 South Africa (2019 AFCON qualifier, Uyo)
17th November 2018: South Africa 1-1 Nigeria (2019 AFCON qualifier, Johannesburg)
10th July 2019: Nigeria 2-1 South Africa (2019 AFCON quarter-final, Cairo).
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