ABIDJAN – Substitute forward Kelechi Iheanacho and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali played key roles as Nigeria beat South Africa 4-2 on penalties in Bouake on Feb 7 in an Africa Cup of Nations semi-final thriller.
The three-time champions will face hosts Ivory Coast, who dominated the Democratic Republic of Congo but had to settle for a 1-0 win, in the final on Feb 11.
William Troost-Ekong put Nigeria in the lead from the penalty spot midway through the second half, before South Africa earned a spot kick of their own in the final minute of regulation time.
Teboho Mokoena converted the penalty to send the game into extra time in the latest of many dramatic matches at this biennial showpiece.
South Africa played the final minutes of an absorbing match watched by a 32,000 crowd with 10 men, after Grant Kekana was shown a straight red card for a last-defender foul on Teremas Moffi.
“Our team have a huge state of mind. The team fight together. There are 25 of us (in the squad and) it’s difficult to beat us,” said Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro.
“Deep down, thinking about that second cancelled (Nigerian) goal and the (South African) equaliser, a lot of teams would have given up.
“I am very happy, the players are happy. They deserve it, we deserve it, the Super Eagles deserve it, the Nigerian people deserve it.”
South Africa coach Hugo Broos said: “Football can be cruel.
“You play a bad match against Cape Verde, you win on penalties. You play a very good match against Nigeria and lose on penalties.”
Leicester City’s Iheanacho had been an unused substitute in the five group and knockout matches that took the Super Eagles to the semi-finals.
He was thrust into the action by Peseiro for the first time after 102 minutes against South Africa and calmly converted the decisive spot kick.
Nwabali, who plays for South African top-flight club Chippa United, saved shoot-out kicks from Mokoena and Evidence Makgopa. Peseiro, a long-time backer of under-fire incumbent shot-stopper Francis Uzoho, dropped him for the opening group match against Equatorial Guinea and Nwabali has been an ever present.
It will be the eighth final appearance for Nigeria, who were champions in 1980, 1994 and 2013, and the fifth by 1992 and 2015 winners Ivory Coast.
Sebastien Haller scored the only goal of the game in the 65th minute at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium to reach the final, which Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae described as being “like a dream”.
It is a remarkable turnaround for the Elephants, who were on the brink of elimination after losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea at the same stadium in their final group match on Jan 22.
“We are happy, we’re really moved. It’s like a dream, when you go back two weeks to the defeat here against Equatorial Guinea. It was hard then to imagine that we might qualify for the final of our own Afcon,” said Fae, who took over as interim coach after Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked following the 4-0 debacle.
Joining Gasset is Guinea-Bissau coach Baciro Cande, who will not have his contract renewed when it expires in March, the country’s football federation said on Feb 7. The 56-year-old joins the list of coaching casualties at the Africa Cup of Nations, where his side were the first to be eliminated after losing all their Group A games. Cande had been in charge since 2016 following a previous stint as coach of the national team.
Already departed during tournament are Djamel Belmadi (Algeria), Rui Vitoria (Egypt), Tom Saintfiet (Gambia), Chris Hughton (Ghana), Adel Amrouche (Tanzania) and Jalel Kadri (Tunisia). AFP, REUTERS
