The 26th night of the 2023 AFCON served up very interesting encounters with Nigeria and hosts Cote d’Ivoire emerging winners and progressing to the finals of the tournament.

Kelechi “Seniorman” Iheanacho came off the bench, made his first appearance in Cote d’Ivoire and converted the last penalty kick that sent Nigeria to the final. The Super Eagles had the scare of a stomach bug limiting Victor Osimhen but he shook that off to win a penalty in the 2nd half against South Africa.

In-game captain Willian Troost-Ekong stepped up and put the ball behind his namesake who saved 4 spot kicks in the quarter finals. The goal meant that Ekong has now scored in each of his last 2 AFCON matches against Bafana Bafana. The Super Eagles missed the opportunity to make it 2-0 after Lookman’s attempt to round the goalkeeper failed.

Osimhen found the net after a quick counter-attacking transition from the back but the goal was ruled out for a foul in the Eagles box. Mokoena converted the resulted 90th minute penalty kick after VAR called the attention of the referee. Nigerian hearts would have been shattered in the 6th minute of added time after a freekick saved by Nwabali was skied by the South Africans.

In Extra time, the South Africans wanted to take the game to penalties because of the confidence in their goalie. They succeeded but with a dent in their amour. They were reduced to 10-men after Terem Moffi was fouled through on goal.

In the shoot-out, Stanley Nwabali was the hero – saving 2 penalty kicks as Nigeria won 4-2. The victory sent positive vibes across the country as everyone were glued to their screens. Their jubilations in the street last night and the feel-good-factor continued this morning. Nothing unites Nigeria more than football. Nothing.

Notice that there was glitch with DSTV at the beginning of the penalty shoot out. This made a lot of fans at home miss the first penalty save by Stanley Nwabali.

Anyways, Nigeria will face hosts Cote d’Ivoire in the final on Sunday. Who would have believed that Cote d’Ivoire would reach the finals despite losing 2 of their 3 group matches. The Elephants have matched on to the final – defeating DR Congo by a lone Haller goal.

The Ebimpe stadium should be filled to the brim on Sunday as the hosts will hope to take their revenge from Nigeria in grand style.

Congratulations Jose Peseiro – you have done the unthinkable with the Super Eagles.