The Nigerian Super Eagles have advanced to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final after defeating the South African Bafana Bafana 4–2 on penalties.
After extra time, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. The three-time winners will play either the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the hosts, Ivory Coast, in Sunday’s championship match.
Both regular-time goals also came from penalties with captain William Troost-Ekong scoring after 67 minutes for Nigeria and Teboho Mokoena equalised from a 90th-minute spot-kick.
After Nigeria believed they had equalized with a tap-in from standout forward Victor Osimhen, Mokoena equalized.
However, after VAR informed the Egyptian referee that South African player Percy Tau had been fouled nearby, and the match official agreed, play was moved back to the opposite end of the field.
At the end of regulation time, Khuliso Mudau had an opportunity to win the South Africa match in extra time, but he shot wide after goalie Stanley Nwabali parried a free kick from Mokoena.
After Grant Kekana was sent off for a last-defender foul on 115 minutes, South Africa was reduced to 10 men.
Nigeria had defeated South Africa three times before to this encounter, giving them a spotless record against them in the major African football championship.
The Super Eagles defeated Bafana Bafana (The Boys) 2-1 in an Egyptian quarterfinal encounter in 2019, 4-0 in a group match in Tunisia four years later, and 2-0 in a Nigerian semi-final in 2000.
Coach Jose Peseiro of Nigeria made one change to the squad that defeated Angola 1-0: he replaced left-back Zaidu Sanusi, who had not practiced the night before, with Bright Osayi-Samuel.
