By: Nana Kwame Bediako
The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), semi-finals lived up to expectations with captivating moments from both games played on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
Nigeria and South Africa opened the curtains in what was an entertaining football game as they took the game to extra time and finally had to decide it on penalty shootouts, where Nigeria won. On the flip side, Côte d’Ivoire didn’t disappoint, as they prevented any upset from Congo DRC by securing a victory with a Sébastien Haller strike in the 65th minute.
Nigeria, after beating South Africa in what was an end-to-end game, became the first team among the 24 teams that participated in the AFCON 2023 to book a spot in the final. The Super Eagles in this edition of the Africa Cup of Nations have been on a streak of not tasting defeat in their run to the final.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are eager to get their hands on their fourth AFCON trophy after winning the third in 2013 when they beat Burkina Faso in South Africa.
Host nation Côte d’Ivoire, with their mighty twelve men backing them off the pitch, projected a staggering history in the dark skies of Abidjan on Wednesday night as they fought their way to the final. The Elephant of Côte d’Ivoire will be going against Nigeria in the final.
Côte d’Ivoire will be aiming for a third AFCON trophy with a touch of winning it on home soil. The Elephant last won the trophy in 2015 when they beat the Black Stars of Ghana in a shootout in Equatorial Guinea.
The AFCON 2023 final will take place on Sunday, February 11, 2024, at exactly 8 p.m. at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
The game will be live on all Ghana Broadcasting Corporation platforms, including a special HD online stream on the online platform of the state broadcaster.
