Africa Football Discussion || Current Topic: Worldcup qualifiers - CAF.

[Nwada001]

And 90mins is all they need to win it, I think Nigeria will be going into this game with a slight advantage knowing fully well that they have once defeated the elephant of ivory coast and if that plays in their head, then it will be cost of their demise at the finals because the ivorian have had to do all their assignment and did well at that because they went back to the drawing board and corrected their selves and came out stronger than before which have successfully earn them a place in the finals.

This is the finals we are talking about here, and just because they won them before does not mean they will win them again if they don't play well. Nigerian players have been doing excellently well, but I must say their game today was the poorest of their defence I have ever witnessed among all their matches I watched on this AFCON.
 
Both teams meeting in the finals have met before and have either studied their mistakes from the last match or tried to perfect their moves. It's not going to be that regular kind of match between the Suppers Eagles and the Ivory Coast team.
 
Nigeria needs not to use their old winning confidence to go into the game, but rather they should do better in order for Ivory Coast not to beat us in our own game.

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[QueenVera]

 Wow! What a thrilling and suspenseful game! Nigeria have finally gone through to the finals and I must say they deserve this spot. Believe me, on a normal day South Africa are not match to the Super eagles, but they really proved hard to beat and after they equalized later on in the game, I noticed their confidence returned and would have proved deadly if they had capitalized on their chances.
This display by Nigeria shows that they can achieve anything if they set their minds to it and even the great penalty stopper in Ronwen Williams, the South Africa keeper could not stop them.
 Although this is not what they would have wanted, at least South Africa don't get to be kicked out of the tournament, they should be happy to be consoled with third place match as the Super eagles are just too big and out of their league to defeat.

The game was indeed a final in a semi-final. Nigeria and South Africa have more or less been long time rivals and today's encounter was fierce. The both teams weren't ready to let go even though fairly the South African team made it a really tough battle and they were ahead in the possession too.
It was the first time in a long while we witnessed such intense battle in the AFCON contest.
 
 Kudos to the Super Eagles of Nigeria for fighting through the game even up to the extra times and penalties too. Nwabali indeed deserves the man of the match title because technically, he saved the Eagles today. Now into thee finals against the host, considering the intensity of the Nigeria squad and judging from the group stage encounter, one would easily predict that Nigeria has an upper hand in the game on Sunday. Let's anticipate.

[Marykeller]

These Afcon games have surprised me, but in a negative way, the last few games have been full of drama and few goals, with the few goals being penalties. Let's look at the case of Nigeria:

Nigeria 1 - 1 equatorial guinea
Nigeria 1 - 0 Ivory Coast
Nigeria 1 - 0 guinea bissau
Nigeria 2 - 0 Cameroon
Nigeria 1 - 0 Angola
Nigeria 1 - 1 South Africa

From the list of matches, the Nigeria team has played in this AFCON tournament, the most captivating, emotional, and intense match so far is the South Africa, Nigeria match that ended in a penalty shot out.
The match got many Nigeria tensed up and the winning brought joy to the faces of Nigerians.
I gave it up for Bafana Bafana for giving a fantastic match displayed against Super Eagle. They had a beautiful and dominating football in the first half, and they took over the midfield position of the field. The match was just like the finals of AFCON cos both teams longed for a win in their semi finals match with one another.

[Smartvirus]

The game was indeed a final in a semi-final. Nigeria and South Africa have more or less been long time rivals and today's encounter was fierce. The both teams weren't ready to let go even though fairly the South African team made it a really tough battle and they were ahead in the possession too.
It was the first time in a long while we witnessed such intense battle in the AFCON contest.

You could speak of it to have been a final in a semi final over and over again and you would always be right. What a game it was, you have all the thrills and emotions that comes with a final and being a patristic citizen or a fan of either team, the adrenaline rush is sure to be all over your system.
When VO9 went down in the Bafana Bafana goal keeper box and Ekong converted it, it felt as though all the game was won. Nigeria have been known to capitalize on these head starts but, South Africa ensured it wasn’t the same. Having to win and convert their penalty, followed up with some serious pressure on the Nigerian side, I mean me, it was just thrilling.
Even the penalty shoots, it didn’t feel like a 50:50, the South Africans seemed to want the penalty shoots and the Nigerians wasn’t in for that but, eventually won in a shoot out and is now in the finals. What a game it was indeed and congrats to the super eagles. They did it this time.

[Agbamoni]

 Wow! What a thrilling and suspenseful game! Nigeria have finally gone through to the finals and I must say they deserve this spot. Believe me, on a normal day South Africa are not match to the Super eagles, but they really proved hard to beat and after they equalized later on in the game, I noticed their confidence returned and would have proved deadly if they had capitalized on their chances.
This display by Nigeria shows that they can achieve anything if they set their minds to it and even the great penalty stopper in Ronwen Williams, the South Africa keeper could not stop them.
 Although this is not what they would have wanted, at least South Africa don't get to be kicked out of the tournament, they should be happy to be consoled with third place match as the Super eagles are just too big and out of their league to defeat.

The game was indeed a final in a semi-final. Nigeria and South Africa have more or less been long time rivals and today's encounter was fierce. The both teams weren't ready to let go even though fairly the South African team made it a really tough battle and they were ahead in the possession too.
It was the first time in a long while we witnessed such intense battle in the AFCON contest.
 
 Kudos to the Super Eagles of Nigeria for fighting through the game even up to the extra times and penalties too. Nwabali indeed deserves the man of the match title because technically, he saved the Eagles today. Now into thee finals against the host, considering the intensity of the Nigeria squad and judging from the group stage encounter, one would easily predict that Nigeria has an upper hand in the game on Sunday. Let's anticipate.

No doubt Nwabali is the man of the match. But in all, the entire team played very well today. I have never seen AFCON competition this interesting to watch. I believe this is the best so far, we have seen in a long time. Well-coordinated, lack of partiality or nationality in the game. And i also like the fact that the super eagles have proven to be the best in Africa. My honest prayer for them is for them to win the title as they have come so close to lifting the cup. Ivory coast should not be underestimated. I have seen their performance in today's game and i believe if they continue or improve more, they will be a true title contender for the AFCON.

Nigerians on the other hand should also look their flaws and try to improve in those area. Because today they hard more ball touches in their 18-yard box which is unsafe. I don't want to say their defense was poor, i understand that South Africa made good use of the midfield and true passes that made them had most of those chances that would have led to goals. Quite unfortunate that they did not score after all the attempts. Meanwhile Nwabali was everywhere waiting for the balls to catch them. Indeed, he is a great goalkeeper with more future ahead.

[Obim34]

 Wow! What a thrilling and suspenseful game! Nigeria have finally gone through to the finals and I must say they deserve this spot. Believe me, on a normal day South Africa are not match to the Super eagles, but they really proved hard to beat and after they equalized later on in the game, I noticed their confidence returned and would have proved deadly if they had capitalized on their chances.
This display by Nigeria shows that they can achieve anything if they set their minds to it and even the great penalty stopper in Ronwen Williams, the South Africa keeper could not stop them.
 Although this is not what they would have wanted, at least South Africa don't get to be kicked out of the tournament, they should be happy to be consoled with third place match as the Super eagles are just too big and out of their league to defeat.

The game was indeed a final in a semi-final. Nigeria and South Africa have more or less been long time rivals and today's encounter was fierce. The both teams weren't ready to let go even though fairly the South African team made it a really tough battle and they were ahead in the possession too.
It was the first time in a long while we witnessed such intense battle in the AFCON contest.
 
 Kudos to the Super Eagles of Nigeria for fighting through the game even up to the extra times and penalties too. Nwabali indeed deserves the man of the match title because technically, he saved the Eagles today. Now into thee finals against the host, considering the intensity of the Nigeria squad and judging from the group stage encounter, one would easily predict that Nigeria has an upper hand in the game on Sunday. Let's anticipate.

No doubt Nwabali is the man of the match. But in all, the entire team played very well today. I have never seen AFCON competition this interesting to watch. I believe this is the best so far, we have seen in a long time. Well-coordinated, lack of partiality or nationality in the game. And i also like the fact that the super eagles have proven to be the best in Africa. My honest prayer for them is for them to win the title as they have come so close to lifting the cup. Ivory coast should not be underestimated. I have seen their performance in today's game and i believe if they continue or improve more, they will be a true title contender for the AFCON.

Nigerians on the other hand should also look their flaws and try to improve in those area. Because today they hard more ball touches in their 18-yard box which is unsafe. I don't want to say their defense was poor, i understand that South Africa made good use of the midfield and true passes that made them had most of those chances that would have led to goals. Quite unfortunate that they did not score after all the attempts. Meanwhile Nwabali was everywhere waiting for the balls to catch them. Indeed, he is a great goalkeeper with more future ahead.

I would not be sentimental just because I'm a Nigerian but honestly speaking our today's performance aside the penalties was very poor if not the hand of God really upon us we were on the bridge of fallen out. Our defense was solid, applauds to them and our forwards still needs to put themselves together to be able to lift the cup at the finals. Not scoring enough goals and only defending opponents will lead to penalty shoot which we are not even certain of winning.

I'm really happy over our victory today, applauds to our wonderful goalkeeper whose influences since the beginning of the tournament has brought us this far.

[Stepstowealth]

I'm really happy over our victory today, applauds to our wonderful goalkeeper whose influences since the beginning of the tournament has brought us this far.

Our coach got it correctly with the substitutions just before the penalty kick. It was good to bring in Moffi, Ihenacho and Omeruo who clearly are very confident penalty takers. Moffi's kick was the most important, we know that the South African goalkeeper is very good with Penalties, as he saved 3+ penalties on their road to this semi finals. They wanted the penalty because they were confident that they will be able to win with that method, trusted the ability of their goalkeeper Williams, but Moffi's first kick crushed any confidence the goalkeeper must have had. I applaud Moffi for not missing the first kick even though he has not played in the tournament and would have had cold feets, also with Ihenacho for winning it for Nigeria too.

[iBaba]

From the list of matches, the Nigeria team has played in this AFCON tournament, the most captivating, emotional, and intense match so far is the South Africa, Nigeria match that ended in a penalty shot out.
The match got many Nigeria tensed up and the winning brought joy to the faces of Nigerians.
I gave it up for Bafana Bafana for giving a fantastic match displayed against Super Eagle. They had a beautiful and dominating football in the first half, and they took over the midfield position of the field. The match was just like the finals of AFCON cos both teams longed for a win in their semi finals match with one another.

I am yet one of the most excited person on the surface of the Earth today with the results that Super Eagle brought to Nigerians. This was one of the most interesting and daring games that Nigeria have played in this tournament. When the match was kick started, every Nigerian thought it was going to be a little bit easier for Nigeria to beat South Africa because of the way that they have done that in the past however there was another thought that it wouldn't be easy because this is semifinals we're talking about and South Africa have the likes of Mokwena and other guys that were also doing greatly in the tournament.

When the game began, the Super Eagles showed some superiority and everybody was so courageous that Nigeria was going to win the match in a straight win but at a point in time, the game changed and it was more like a twist of faith for Nigerians. the Bafana Bafana guys became on top of their game and they frustrated the Super Eagles until Victor Osimhen created a penalty opportunity for Nigerians which was scored by Williams Troost Ekong. That was a moment of Joy for everyone not until when Victor osimhen was meant to score another goal that was canceled and instead became a penalty against the Super Eagles which was caused by Yusuf Al-hassan.

I personally became more worried for the Super Eagles because the morale became low and they were not performing as they were in the first half however they were able to maintain the tempo up until when it took them to the penalty shoot out and the Super Eagles did fantastic job. I will take kudos to every player that played the penalty shootout but I specially Nwabali, the Nigerian Goalkeeper and Iheanacho.

[EL MOHA]

Our coach got it correctly with the substitutions just before the penalty kick. It was good to bring in Moffi, Ihenacho and Omeruo who clearly are very confident penalty takers. Moffi's kick was the most important, we know that the South African goalkeeper is very good with Penalties, as he saved 3+ penalties on their road to this semi finals. They wanted the penalty because they were confident that they will be able to win with that method, trusted the ability of their goalkeeper Williams, but Moffi's first kick crushed any confidence the goalkeeper must have had. I applaud Moffi for not missing the first kick even though he has not played in the tournament and would have had cold feets, also with Ihenacho for winning it for Nigeria too.

Seriously I wouldn’t call it a tactical strategy but rather we got lucky on this one, whenever I saw the substituted players coming up to take penalty I was just like you afraid that they might ended losing it. The first was most vital and Moffi did well. I thought we could do all five clear but the energetic Ola Aina had to miss, that was a hard luck for player who to me has been one of the best players in the Nigeria squad and the tournament at large. Immediately I saw Ekong coming for the fourth penalty i Knew Senior man Kelz will definitely come up last. The most naively penalty was that of Ekong after South Africa had missed which was a really good penalty, he lead by an example


Next up his against the host country. Ivory Coast is going to be a tough game. Considering that we had once beaten in This competition and with there supporters large in number on their side

[PokerBetting]

Although there were many surprises in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, the final also brought together strong teams. between Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
But in the final, Nigeria will be more favored to win the match than ivory coast. in the current squad, Nigeria is stronger, many of its players are stars in big European clubs compared to ivory coast.

[Davidvictorson]

Congratulations to the Super Eagles of Nigeria. I am happy for them. As someone who is highly critical of them, I am impressed with their performance and  the widespread support that they have been receiving.

Our coach got it correctly with the substitutions just before the penalty kick.

We all agreed that the coach made a good call by making fantastic tactical changes during the semi-final match which included the substitutions and defensive adjustments. The result of which contributed to our eventual triumph. Despite this, in terms of our national team's management, the football federation in charge need to improve on their development programs as we are a nation filled with talented young stars who are ready to fill the shoes of the present stars when they leave the pitch.

[CryptoHeadlineNews]

Seriously I wouldn’t call it a tactical strategy but rather we got lucky on this one, whenever I saw the substituted players coming up to take penalty I was just like you afraid that they might ended losing it.The first was most vital and Moffi did well.

Yes, no doubt that the game must have been said to have been a luck, but it was a luck coupled with a strategic plan, of which I must applaud our very own coach for bringing in the right people for the penalty kick die minutes into the end of the match, because if Kelechi Iheanacho, Kenneth Omeruo and Terem Moffi weren't all substituted 15 minutes before the start of the penalty kick, I doubt what the outcome of that match would have been.

But what could be said to be pure luck was the equalizing goal score by Teboho Mokoena die minute into the game (i.e 90' )

Next up his against the host country. Ivory Coast is going to be a tough game. Considering that we had once beaten in This competition and with there supporters large in number on their side

I don't think that is ever a problem, because inasmuch as the Super Eagles could play a sweet strategic game just as they played against South African in the forthcoming AFCON finals, I'm sure we have a better chance of winning this trophy come on Sunday 11th Feb, 2024.

[Barikui1]

A very big congratulation to my country Nigeria for booking their place in this year African cup of nations finals, actually it was really not an easy game, because even before the start of the match yesterday, I was even talking about how worried I am due to the fact that 8 first team players in this south Africa side plays at the same club the memelodi sundown of south Africa, so  I know that their togetherness and team work would be topnotch, but in all that, even in the face of difficulties, my country Nigeria came out on top, secondly at last we have finally gotten someone that can replace Vincent enyeama in the  likes of mwabali. It was a well contested tie, even though on penalty, you need a little bit of luck, but the match was really a fascinating encounter expecially for the neutral fans

[Obim34]

I'm really happy over our victory today, applauds to our wonderful goalkeeper whose influences since the beginning of the tournament has brought us this far.

Our coach got it correctly with the substitutions just before the penalty kick. It was good to bring in Moffi, Ihenacho and Omeruo who clearly are very confident penalty takers. Moffi's kick was the most important, we know that the South African goalkeeper is very good with Penalties, as he saved 3+ penalties on their road to this semi finals. They wanted the penalty because they were confident that they will be able to win with that method, trusted the ability of their goalkeeper Williams, but Moffi's first kick crushed any confidence the goalkeeper must have had. I applaud Moffi for not missing the first kick even though he has not played in the tournament and would have had cold feets, also with Ihenacho for winning it for Nigeria too.

Yes, absolute brilliant work from the coach. Truth be told if Oshimen was left in the field for penalty kicks then probably something might have resulted despite being our top 9. Moffi kick was quite a good one but I enjoy that of Omerou he was extremely flawless with that kick so much confidence applied.

[Coyster]

Many congratulations to both Nigeria and Ivory coast as they are going to face each other in the final, that would be the second time they are meeting in this tournament, remember Nigeria beat Ivory coast in the group stage, but i am pretty sure this one (the final) is going to be tougher. I am Nigerian, so i hope we defeat the hosts on Sunday, we have the quality and determination to do it and i believe in our boys to bring the trophy back gome.

Having said that, this has to be the best AFCON i have ever witnesses, since i started watching the tournament, the professionalism of the players and the teams is at its highest level, every game is tough, interesting and unpredictable; this has indeed been a great showing for Africa and African football and Sunday would be the culmination of it all.

[Majestic-milf]

 The game was indeed a final in a semi-final. Nigeria and South Africa have more or less been long time rivals and today's encounter was fierce. The both teams weren't ready to let go even though fairly the South African team made it a really tough battle and they were ahead in the possession too.
It was the first time in a long while we witnessed such intense battle in the AFCON contest.
 

To be frank, even Ivory Coast didn't give as much pressure to Nigeria as South Africa did. The stadium was charged with so much tension that even the fans were feeling the electricity. South Africa were the better side in terms of passes, control and even ball possession at some point but Nigeria went on to score the first goal.This was the first game I saw Nigeria almost loosing their cool after a goal that would have solidified their win turned out to be a penalty for South Africa. I'd give big credits to Nwabali and Osimhen, these two are the real MVPs no doubt.
 For south Africa and Ronwen Williams, you'd say their frustration knew no bounds as their prized keeper couldn't come through for them this time.

[Nheer]

Although there were many surprises in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, the final also brought together strong teams. between Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
But in the final, Nigeria will be more favored to win the match than ivory coast. in the current squad, Nigeria is stronger, many of its players are stars in big European clubs compared to ivory coast.

You are right, they have a very strong team and many players from the Nigerian squad are star players from strong European teams so they have the advantage to actually win in the final and also considering that they played against Ivory Coast in the group stage and won them 1-0 it will give them more confidence to play better against them in the final.

We can say all this in our mind but it wouldn’t mean Nigeria will win that day, it will depend on their performance and how highly spirited they play on Sunday. Ivory Coast would not want what happened in the group stage should happen again they will not want to lose to Nigeria again and also they would not want to disappoint their fans by losing in the final on their home soil after making their way to the final.

So far Nigeria have been unbeaten in the tournament and i hope they can end the tournament unbeaten to lift the trophy. As a Nigerian i hope they win in the final and bring home the trophy.

[udidrone]

Although there were many surprises in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, the final also brought together strong teams. between Nigeria and Ivory Coast.
But in the final, Nigeria will be more favored to win the match than ivory coast. in the current squad, Nigeria is stronger, many of its players are stars in big European clubs compared to ivory coast.

In the group stage, Nigeria had also defeated Ivory Coast well this could be the reason why Nigeria was more favored to win but on the other hand Ivory Coast cannot be underestimated they also have the ability and opportunity to win, even though the opportunity is lower. On February 12 we will see who the winners in this tournament, If we check in the sportsbook both teams have the same opportunity to win based on the odds offered this means they predict the two teams will draw in normal time.

[Gozie51]

On February 12 we will see who the winners in this tournament, If we check in the sportsbook both teams have the same opportunity to win based on the odds offered this means they predict the two teams will draw in normal time.

The odds is where you have a face idea of who is favourite. So teams don't have the same opportunity to win but what happens in the field is a different thing entirely. If you look at the odds of Nigeria and South African team, they are not the same and that means one was tipped to win and that was/is Nigeria having odd around 1:30 and South Africa having about 5 plus even though the game changed at the field of play as South Africa really proved her worth dragging the match to 120 minutes and eventually falling through penalties. Despite Nigeria winning, well I didn't expect the match to be that tough especially from the side of South Africa. I think the bunch of players from their home league really helped their play.

However, congratulations to Nigeria for finally coming into the finals of the 2024 Afcon competition and helpfully they are going to take home the trophy.

[Die_empty]

In the group stage, Nigeria had also defeated Ivory Coast well this could be the reason why Nigeria was more favored to win but on the other hand Ivory Coast cannot be underestimated they also have the ability and opportunity to win, even though the opportunity is lower. On February 12 we will see who the winners in this tournament, If we check in the sportsbook both teams have the same opportunity to win based on the odds offered this means they predict the two teams will draw in normal time.

Nigeria won Ivory Coast by one goal to nothing it was by penalty. I don't think Nigeria should consider underrating a host of the African Cup of Nations. The host nation has the support of the fans and might be favoured by the officials to please the home fans. The Nigerian side will defeat Ivory Coact only if they can get goals and put up the same quality defending they did in their group stage match. The host team has improved tremendously and it unwise be unwise to think that the outcome of the group stage game can be used to predict the finals.  

To be frank, even Ivory Coast didn't give as much pressure to Nigeria as South Africa did. The stadium was charged with so much tension that even the fans were feeling the electricity. South Africa were the better side in terms of passes, control and even ball possession at some point but Nigeria went on to score the first goal.This was the first game I saw Nigeria almost loosing their cool after a goal that would have solidified their win turned out to be a penalty for South Africa. I'd give big credits to Nwabali and Osimhen, these two are the real MVPs no doubt.
 For south Africa and Ronwen Williams, you'd say their frustration knew no bounds as their prized keeper couldn't come through for them this time.

The game is a total example of luck. The Super Eagles were outplayed but they were just fortunate not to conceive goals. The last chance that was missed by Khuliso Mudau close to the end of the game is an indication that the Super Eagles are destined to be in the finals. The Nigerian team is not used to conceding goals, I was also worried when South Africa equalised. I knew it would be difficult for the Nigerian side to score more goals because they were under pressure but they were just lucky to struggle time the end of the 120 minutes.