2-3, 1-0! Asian Cup upset, Iran eliminated! Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Africa compete for the title
Both the 2024 Asian Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations have reached the semi-finals, and in the first semi-final of the Asian Cup, the dark horse Jordan team blocked the favorite South Korea from the final with a score of 2-0 and reached the final to compete for the championship. In the early hours of this morning, the other semi-final was staged, with favourites Iran facing defending champions Qatar for the right to the final. The two semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations were also played in the early hours of this morning, Nigeria against South Africa, and the host Ivory Coast against the dark horse Democratic Republic of Congo.
Qatar 3-2 Iran
Qatar's world ranking is 58th, the last Asian Cup Qatar reached the final to defeat the Japanese team to win the championship, this Asian Cup Qatar won all three games in the group stage without conceding 1 goal to advance, in the knockout round, Qatar encountered difficulties, 1/8 finals difficult reversal eliminated Palestine, 120 minutes of battle with Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals, and finally advanced through a penalty shootout.
Iran is ranked 21st in the world and won all three games in the group stage, and in the first round of the knockout round, Iran faced stubborn resistance from Syria and finally passed through a penalty shootout. In the quarterfinals, Iran faced Asia's No. 1 Japan, and the Iranian team scored two goals in a row after conceding one goal first, completing the reversal and eliminating the biggest favorite Japan team to win the championship. Due to the unexpected upset of the South Korean team in the first half, Iran became the biggest favorite to win the championship.
In the game, in the first half, Azmoun scored the first goal with a hook shot, Garber volleyed a refraction to equalize, and Afif helped the team overtake the score; in the second half, Jahanbakhsh equalized the score again, and Ali pushed the ball in the box to exceed the score for Qatar again. At full-time, Qatar reversed Iran 3-2.
Nigeria 1-1 South Africa (4-2)
Nigeria is ranked 42nd in the world and has won the Africa Cup of Nations three times in its history, but at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Nigeria missed the finals. In this Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria has an unbeaten record of 2 wins and 1 draw in the group stage, defeated Cameroon in the first round of the knockout round, and eliminated the dark horse Angola in the quarterfinals, conceding only 1 goal in 5 games and completing 4 clean sheets.
South Africa is ranked 66th in the world and won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996. The promotion process of this Africa Cup of Nations is very thrilling, the group stage won 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss only to get the third promotion in the group, the first round of the knockout round upset the championship favorite Morocco eliminated, the quarterfinals and the dark horse Cape Verde battle for 120 minutes, and finally won the penalty shootout with a score of 2-1 narrowly to advance.
In the game, in the first half, Nigeria dominated the offensive but did not create absolute chances. In the second half, Osimhen made a penalty and Ekong scored from the spot, and at the end of the 90th minute, Osimhen scored a goal, but the referee ruled that Yusuf had fouled Yusuf and invalidated the first goal through VAR replay, and also awarded a penalty to South Africa, Teboho equalized from the penalty spot, and South Africa missed the empty net in stoppage time. Grant was red in extra-time and neither side was able to find the back of the net. Nigeria won 4-2 on penalties. At the end of the match, Nigeria 5-3 South Africa, Nigeria advanced to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Côte d'Ivoire 1-0 Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ivory Coast is the host of the Africa Cup of Nations, currently ranked 49th in the world and has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice. In this Africa Cup of Nations, Ivory Coast's performance in the group stage was disastrous, losing two games and winning only one, and finally advanced by virtue of the best four group thirds, but in the knockout stage, Ivory Coast dragged defending champion Senegal into a penalty shoot-out and finally advanced 5-4. In the quarterfinals, Mali once again went to extra time and finally advanced with a score of 2-1.
Democratic Republic of the Congo is the dark horse team of this Africa Cup of Nations, the group stage three games are drawn to advance, the knockout stage through a penalty shootout to win the favorite Egypt, in the quarterfinals, Democratic Republic of the Congo 3-1 defeated Guinea to advance to the semi-finals.