Date and Time: Wednesday, February 7, 17:00 GMT
Venue: Sade Bouake
Team Overview
Nigeria Count on Their Solidity to Make it Past South Africa
Nigeria will look to return to the final of Africa’s premier tournament when they face South Africa on Wednesday. The Super Eagles have demonstrated significant solidity throughout the tournament, conceding a solitary goal in the 1-1 opening draw against Equatorial Guinea in the group stage.
In the subsequent four matches en route to the semi-final, Nigeria have won all four and kept clean sheets in all of them.
To demonstrate the significance of their solidity at the back, the Super Eagles have won three of the four matches by a 1-0 margin. They will look to retain their shape and solidity at the back when they entertain an exciting South African side looking to make it to the final.
| Recent Form | WWWWD |
| Key Players to Watch | S. Ajayi, Troost-Ekong, and Bassey |
| Team Strengths | Solidity and compactness at the back |
| Team Weaknesses | Fluency in attack |
South Africa Looking to Ride Their Momentum Past Nigeria and into the AFCON Finals
South Africa started at the tournament as dark horses. However, as the event progressed, they emerged as genuine contenders for the title. After an opening day 2-0 defeat against Mali, they bounced back with a cracking 4-0 win against Namibia before sealing qualification with a 0-0 draw against Tunisia.
The 0-2 win against World Cup semi-finalists in the Qatar World Cup, Morocco, announced them as genuine contenders in Ivory Coast. They subsequently eliminated the impressive Cape Verde 1-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw after extra time.
Bafana Bafana will look to continue their good form against the fancied Nigeria on Wednesday.
| Recent Form | DWDWL |
| Key Players to Watch | Makgopa |
| Team Strengths | Attacking fluency |
| Team Weaknesses | Solidity at the back |
Head-to-Head Statistics
Nigeria and South Africa have played nine times since 2004. Nigeria have emerged winners five times with South Africa winning just once and three matches ending in draws. Football predictions show that the Super Eagles of Nigeria have the edge heading into Wednesday’s clash.
| Nigeria | Draw | South Africa |
| 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Statistics | ||
| 15 | Goals | 4 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 4 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| Last Matches | ||
| Nigeria | 2-1 | South Africa |
| South Africa | 1-1 | Nigeria |
| Nigeria | 0-2 | South Africa |
| Nigeria | 2-2 | South Africa |
| South Africa | 0-0 | Nigeria |
The head-to-head statistics reveal Nigeria as the football pick for favorites in the clash on Wednesday.
Player Focus
Nigeria will look to extend their impressive defensive record at the tournament, keeping four clean sheets and conceding once. South Africa will concentrate on leveraging their attacking potency to break down the Super Eagles.
S. Ajayi, Troost-Ekong, and Bassey
With their impressive defensive record, football bet predictions show that the three defenders for Nigeria are likely to keep another shutout in the semi-final.
The Super Eagles will look to their back three to be organized, aggressive, and compact as they look to nullify the South African attack and form the basis for Nigeria’s offensive players to hurt Bafana Bafana.
Makgopa
South Africa’s striker will come up against the Tournament’s meanest defense. Expert soccer predictions show that Makgopa will need significant support in the final third to create the space and movement to open up chances.
The striker will use his sharpness, pace, and clever movement to move the Nigerian defense around and open up the spaces South Africa will need to create chances and take them in the semi-final.
Tactical Analysis
Nigeria will retain their compact approach in the semi-final, whereas South Africa will be left to take the initiative and dominate the match.
Nigeria vs. South Africa Expert Analysis
Free football predictions show that Nigeria will retain their back-three approach, given its success so far in the tournament.
South Africa will retain their 4-2-3-1 approach in the semi-final. It gives them solidity and compactness even as they look to dominate and attack.
Betting Odds
Football prediction analysis on 22bet shows Nigeria as the favorites to make it to the final. The pre-match odds favor Nigeria; however, South Africa will have their say in this match as they look to leverage their recent form and momentum heading into the semi-final.
22bet will offer live prediction football on the site on Wednesday after kickoff, adding to the action.
| Nigeria | Draw | South Africa |
| 1.63 | 3.58 | 6.2 |
The match will largely be defense versus attack. Nigeria have not found their bearing yet in attack, whereas South Africa have shown some vulnerabilities in their defensive phase.
Nigeria will win the match and progress to the AFCON finals.
Disclaimer:
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