Recap: Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire Advance to AFCON Final

Nigeria 1(4)-1(2) South Africa

The Super Eagles leaned on FC Nantes’ Moses Simon and OGC Nice’s Terem Moffi in the match, with the former starting and the latter coming off the bench. Nigeria opened the scoring in the second half courtesy of a goal from William Troost-Ekong. Late in the second half, Nigeria thought former Lille star Victor Osimhen had scored an insurance goal to put them in the final, but VAR ruled no goal.

After Nigeria thought they had the clinching goal for the win, South Africa scored on a penalty kick to level the scoring late and force extra time. Extra time couldn’t determine a winner, so the match went to a penalty kick shootout.

Nigeria would beat Bafana Bafana 4-2 in the shootout, with Moffi converting his shot. José Peseiro and his team will now face hosts Côte d’Ivoire in the final, while South Africa heads to the third-place game against DR Congo on Saturday.

Having come on as substitutes in their respective semi-finals, @BogaJeremie and @7erem_ will face each other in the #AFCON2023 final 🏆😍

Congratulations to both Aiglons! 🇨🇮 🇳🇬#OGCNice pic.twitter.com/EjMHnhDGbV

— OGC Nice 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@ogcnice_eng) February 7, 2024

Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 DR Congo

In yet another closely contested match, Les Éléphants’ impressive surge in the knockout phase following a lackluster group stage continued as they secured a spot in the final by defeating DR Congo 1-0. Côte d’Ivoire counted on Wilfried Singo from AS Monaco as the defender played the entire 90 minutes in the win.

DR Congo counted on the contributions of several Ligue 1 players, with Gedeon Kalulu from FC Lorient, Chancel Mbemba from Olympique de Marseille, and Samuel Moutoussamy from FC Nantes all playing the full 90 minutes for the Leopards.

Following a goalless first half, Sébastien Haller broke the deadlock in the 65th minute, securing the decisive goal for victory. They’ll have the home crowd on their side in Sunday’s AFCON final against Nigeria.