A titanic clash awaits African football as Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire contest the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2023 final on Sunday.
This heavyweight bout sees two bitter rivals collide with continental glory at stake.
February 11th will witness a final for the ages at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium. When these foes last met in the group stage, Nigeria edged out the hosts 1-0.
However, with redemption on the line, Cote d’Ivoire will be a different beast. And Nigeria know preventing the Elephants from winning a third AFCON on home soil represents their toughest test.
For Nigerian manager Jose Peseiro, outwitting Cote d’Ivoire boss Emerse Fae will be key. Peseiro’s tactical nous guided Nigeria past South Africa in a penalty shootout thriller on Wednesday’s first semi final
But Fae’s also showed grit to overcome DR Congo 1-0 in the semi-finals. Much will depend on the battle between Peseiro and fae on the touchline.
On the pitch, the stars will shine bright under the Abidjan lights. ICote d’Ivoire boasts star players Nicolas Pepe and prolific Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller.
Yet Nigeria have talents like Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and William Troost-Ekong in their ranks. With such pedigree on display, a goal-fest could await.
Whoever prevails, African football is the ultimate winner. This TotalEnergies CAF AFCON reaches a fitting crescendo with two heavyweights fighting for continental glory.
Nigeria are through to the AFCON final after a dramatic penalty shootout win against South Africa with the Super Eagles prevailing 4-2 on penalties following a captivating 1-1 draw over 120 minutes.
At the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on Wednesday, this semi-final produced twists and turns fitting of any Nollywood thriller.
Nigeria looked to have won it when Victor Osimhen scored late on, only for VAR to instead award South Africa a lifeline penalty.
Bafana Bafana converted to force extra time before penalties ensued.
There, goalkeeping heroics from Stanley Nwabali gave Nigeria the edge in the shootout. His two saves booked the Super Eagles’ passage to Sunday’s final.
As Nwabali wheeled away in celebration, joy unconfined for Nigeria, this was agony for South Africa.
Bafana Bafana’s keeper Ronwen Williams – who saved four penalties last round – was inconsolable as his AFCON dream died.
Nigeria made the early running in a cagey first half. The lively Iwobi brought the best from Williams, whose reflex save kept things goalless. South Africa responded in kind, Evidence Makgopa curling just wide before Percy Tau was thwarted when clean through.
The tension ratcheted after the break as both keepers took center stage. Nwabali acrobatically denied Makgopa once more, while at the other end Williams stood firm to repel Osimhen.
That set the scene for high drama in the closing stages. Nigeria earned a 67th minute penalty when Osimhen was flattened, which Troost-Ekong converted emphatically.
Sensing blood, a frenzied Nigeria pressed for the killer second. They thought they had it through Osimhen, but VAR intervened to spot an earlier foul. South Africa were awarded a lifeline penalty instead, dispatched by Mokoena.
So to extra time, where fatigue stifled attacking fluency. With legs heavy and nerves jangling, a shootout felt inevitable. Williams and Nwabali then took the spotlight.
While Williams correctly guessed the direction of two Nigerian penalties, his hands couldn’t match his intuition. Nwabali showed no such mercy, diving to deny both Mokoena and Mayambela.
As Nigeria soak up the raptures of reaching the final, Williams is left inconsolable. Four days ago he was the hero, now South Africa’s brokenhearted goalkeeper.
Nigeria now stand one win away from a fourth African crown. Propelled by Nwabali’s shootout brilliance, Sunday’s final sees them as a strong contenders for the title.
