The Nigerian national team is currently considered one of the main favorites of the tournament by many experts, and it’s hard to disagree. Under the guidance of Jose Peseiro, the team has left a positive impression primarily due to their confident defensive play. In five tournament matches, the “Super Eagles” have conceded only one goal, and that was in the first group stage match against Equatorial Guinea. Subsequent narrow victories over Ivory Coast (1:0) and Guinea-Bissau (1:0) followed. In the knockout stage, the Nigerians first eliminated a strong Cameroon side (2:0) and then overcame Angola in the quarterfinals (1:0).
The South African national team has pleasantly surprised in this tournament. Even the most devoted fans likely found it hard to believe that “Bafana Bafana” would reach the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations. After a defeat to Mali in the opening match with a score of 0:2, Hugo Broos’ team bounced back with a resounding victory over Namibia (4:0) and shared points with Tunisia (0:0). This was enough to finish second in their group. In the first round of the knockout stage, South Africa caused a real sensation by defeating none other than the World Cup semi-finalists, Morocco (0:2). The quarterfinal match against Cape Verde proved to be very challenging. In regular and extra time, neither team could find the net, so the fate of the semi-final spot was decided in a penalty shootout. South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams became a national hero by saving four “Blue Sharks” shots.
