In the early morning of February 8, Beijing time, the African semifinals all came to an end, and in the end, Ivory Coast, ranked 49th in the world, defeated the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ranked 67th in the world, 1-0, and Nigeria, ranked 42nd in the world, defeated South Africa, ranked 66th in the world, 5-3. At this point, the final of the Africa Cup of Nations will be played by the host country Côte d'Ivoire against the African eagles Nigeria at 4 a.m. on February 12. It is worth mentioning that the two sides have already met once in the group stage of this Africa Cup of Nations, when Nigeria won against Ivory Coast on penalties created by Osimhen. In the end, Nigeria qualified second in the group, while Ivory Coast finished third in the group. Let's take a quick rundown of the two semi-finals.
Ivory Coast vs Democratic Republic of the Congo
At the beginning of the game, the left corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was driven forward, the Ivory Coast goalkeeper picked up the ball and got rid of it, Ilya stabbed it cleverly, and the former Inter foreign player Bakambu scored with a header, but unfortunately the referee fouled the attack. Bakambu, who was then active, then hung a golden hook sideways in the box and was blocked by a defender. Towards the end of the half, Kessie volleyed into the post near the line of the penalty area. In the second half, Alai volleyed sideways from inside the box in the 65th minute and bounced the ball straight into the corner. After that, both sides struggled to find a good chance to find the back of the net. Full time Ivory Coast 1-0 Democratic Republic of the Congo. Full time possession Ivory Coast 55-45 Democratic Republic of Congo. Full time shot Ivory Coast 14-7 Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nigeria VS South Africa
In the first half, the two sides fought against each other to form a balance of power, but unfortunately the kick at the goal was a little rough. In the second half, South African striker Tau was brought down in the box and the referee did not indicate it. Turning his head, Osimhen was brought down, the referee pointed decisively to 12 yards, and Ekong broke the deadlock with a penalty. A strange scene appeared at the end of the game, Nigeria counterattacked and scored, but after reading VAR, the referee ruled that Nigeria had fouled in the penalty area, South Africa unexpectedly won a penalty, Nigeria's counterattack goal was not counted, and South Africa equalized. In extra time, it was difficult to distinguish between the two sides. The final penalty was 4-of-5 for Nigeria and 2-of-4 for South Africa. Full time Nigeria 5-3 South Africa. Full time possession Nigeria 40-60 South Africa. Full time shot Nigeria 14-14 South Africa.