AFCON: Nigeria vs South Africa: Team news, key players, TV, all you need to know

Forum 2 months ago

AFCON: Nigeria vs South Africa: Team news, key players, TV, all you need to know

South Africa and Nigeria will lock horns in one of the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, being played in Ivory Coast.

The other semi-final would be between the host nation, Ivory Coast and Democratic Republic of Congo.

No team has been able to wrestle Nigeria to the ground since the competition started, their poorest result being a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in the opening game.

South Africa on the other hand, has been defeated just once, being their opening game defeat to Mali.

In the 14 games played between the two countries, Nigeria have won 7, lost 2 while 5 of them ended in draws.

To reach this stage of the competition, the Super Eagles overcame the likes of Angola and Cameroon in the knockout stages, while South Africa overpowered Morocco and Cape Verde.

The last time South Africa won the AFCON was in 1996. They went on to finish second and third in 1998 and 2000, respectively.

Nigeria on the other hand lifted it last in 2013.

Nigeria have been playing a 3-4-3 formation which has brought them to this stage with the setup transforming to a 5-4-1 when they defend while South Africa play with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Handlers of the Super Eagles confirmed on Tuesday that star striker, Victor Osimhen will be available for the game.

But South Africa winger and one of their most dangerous players, Thapelo Maseko, has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury.

Apart from Osimhen, Nigeria can count on other Key players such as William Troost-Ekong, Ademola Lookman, Ola Aina and Stanley Nwabali.

South Africa parade the likes of Ronwen Williams, who stopped four penalties against Cape Verde in their last game, Teboho Mokoena, among others.

Nigeria vs South Africa will be played on Wednesday at Stade Bouaké in Bouaké, Ivory Coast.

The game is scheduled for a 17:00 local time kick-off, which is 17:00 GMT and 18:00 CET and 18:00 Nigerian Time.

The match is available to watch live across Africa and the rest of the world.

Nigerian fans will be able to watch the match live on AfroSport and Supersport, while those in South Africa can watch via Supersports.

For the UK & Ireland, Sky Sports will be broadcasting the match.