Alas, only four remain in the AFCON title race. After a thrilling quarterfinal slate, Nigeria, DR Congo, Ivory Coast, and South Africa have emerged as the last four outfits standing.
The tale of the tape indicates that Nigeria will face the underdogs, South Africa, at Stade Bouaké, while Ivory Coast will try to penetrate the bulwark defence of DR Congo in the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé.
But before the top four African sides rumble it out, make sure to read below for match previews and a brief retelling of how these outfits made their way to the AFCON semifinals, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Nigeria vs South Africa
As it stands, Nigeria are the team to beat, and they’re the favourites to win as per the AFCON 2023 betting odds. But to be fair, they were already one of the teams that were favoured to go on a deep run even before the tournament began.
They breezed through a tough cluster in the group stages by going unbeaten, which is an already impressive achievement, but what made them a part of the upper echelon was that they dominated the group stages with just a one-goal production from their star, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
The winner of the Africa Player of the Year Award for 2023 had a stellar run last year, scoring 26 goals in 29 appearances for club and country across all competitions in 2023.
But this AFCON, Osimhen has only managed to score one goal despite contributing 32 per cent of Nigeria’s 41 attempts in the group stage.
Osimhen has been tepid compared to his usual goal-getting self. Nigeria’s No. 9 has yet to produce significant contributions, but maybe he’s just waiting for the most opportune time to blow up. And at this point in the tournament, Nigeria should hope that’s the case.
Luckily for the Super Eagles, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman is having the tournament of his life. Lookman is looking like the best player in the tournament since the Round of 16. The 26-year-old has carried Nigeria on his back and scored all of their goals in the knockout phases.
His magnum opus was against one of the tournament favourites, Cameroon, in the Round of 16. Lookman was the man of the match, producing a brace to eliminate the Indomitable Lions from the tournament with a humbling 2-0 clean sheet.
He picked up where he left off and scored a first-half goal against Angola in the quarterfinals, which was enough to send the Palancas Negras packing.
Now, Nigeria and Lookman are keen on producing the same level of play and continuing their winning AFCON 2023 results as they go up against the thriving South Africa in the semifinal.
Unlike Nigeria, South Africa had a bumpy road leading to the semis. They finished the group stages with one win, one loss, and one draw, placing them in second place in Group E. But despite their shaky performance in the group phase, South Africa showed their might and stunned the World Cup semifinalists, Morocco, in the Round of 16.
But the magical performances from South Africa don’t stop there. They then pulled another upset against Cape Verde, who were unbeaten coming into their quarterfinal bout. Bafana Bafana held their own all throughout the match and managed to brave all of Cape Verde’s 25 attempts at the goal.
South Africa won the pivotal match via penalties, where they edged out their rivals 1-2.
One thing’s for sure: no one can count South Africa out, even against relentless teams like Morocco and Cape Verde. The only question now is if they can continue their Cinderella run against the Super Eagles.
Ivory Coast vs DR Congo
Elsewhere, Ivory Coast have shown nothing but resiliency since the start of the AFCON. They finished third in the group stages but were able to qualify for the Round of 16 due to rankings.
It wasn’t a cakewalk whatsoever for Ivory Coast. They pushed the panic button after their third match and fired their head coach, Jean-Louis Gasset. Former Reading player Emerse Faé took over for the Elephants to start the knockout phases, and well, the rest is history.
The striving Ivory Coast stunned the entire football world by eliminating the reigning AFCON champions, Senegal, in the Round of 16 via penalties, then followed up with another stellar come-from-behind win against Mali.
It’s safe to say that Ivory Coast are definitely in the running for the AFCON title this term.
DR Congo, on the other hand, have leaned on their defence all throughout the tournament (no surprises there) and have garnered a spot in the semis as a result.
The Leopards failed to get a single win in the group stages but were still able to qualify for the Round of 16 thanks to lackluster performances by Zambia and Tanzania.
Although they started to light up the AFCON after sending the Pharaohs home in the Round of 16, they proceeded to dominate Guirassy’s Guinea in the quarterfinals.
They’ve only conceded four goals in the tournament thus far, and they’d want to keep their defencive intensity moving forward if they want to grab their third AFCON title for their home country.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
