Stanley Nwabali of Nigeria saves twice in shootout success as Nigeria reach final. Match report and free highlights as Nigeria beat South Africa on penalties to reach Cup of Nations final; Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali saved twice in shootout; Ivory Coast and DR Congo play each other in second semi-final. (Photo: Haller, centre, scored for Ivory Coast).

Stanley Nwabali earned Nigeria a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final after saving two penalties in a 4-2 shootout success over South Africa. Nigeria had lost five of their previous six semis at the continental finals but survived some nervous moments to book a place in Sunday’s decider. William Troost-Ekong put Nigeria into the lead from the penalty spot midway through the second half, before South Africa earned a spot kick of their own in the final minute of the 90 and it was converted by Teboho Mokoena, leaving the game at 1-1 in normal time.

Nwabali dived bottom left to thwart Teboho Mokoena, before stopping Evidence Makgopa’s centrally placed effort to ensure the three-time champions will face either host nation Ivory Coast or Congo in Sunday’s final. The game in Bouak had barely started when Nigeria star Victor Osimhen doubled over in apparent pain. Osimhen was an injury worry before the game because of abdominal pain, but he could resume after a brief pause.

Percy Tau had the first real chance but shot straight at Nwabali, who then had to emerge from goal to grab the ball when Tau burst through minutes later, and produced a brilliant save to stop Makgopa’s effort from nestling in the top corner. Nigeria got their break midway through the second half when Mothobi Mvala conceded a penalty for a foul on Osimhen. (Photo: Nigeria).

Captain William Troost-Ekong coolly fired the spot kick home in the 67th minute, despite Williams’ best efforts to prevent it from crossing the line with an outstretched leg. Osimhen thought he had sealed the win late on but the goal was ruled out after a VAR check found Alhassan Yusuf had fouled Tau in the area, gifting South Africa a last-gasp penalty. Mokoena made no mistake with the spot kick to equalise in the 90th minute and Khuliso Mudau went on to miss a great chance to seal a South African win in stoppage time. Courtesy: Sky Sports.

Ivory Coast vs DR Congo – CAF AFCON 2023 Semi-Final

Hosts Ivory Coast take on the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the second semifinal of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 – Kickoff is at 20:00 GMT at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Kessie is player of the match – The Ivory Coast midfield dominated the match and kept DR Congo at bay all match as they struggled to even create chances. No surprise then that it was an Elephants’ midfielder to take the player of the match award… Who are these Ivory Coast players? From a group stage that saw them lose two games and their coach, Ivory Coast are now into the final and it promises to be a finale befitting of a fantastic AFCON.

Defeated 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea in the final group-stage match was humiliating for the hosts. They also lost to Nigeria – the team they will now face in the finals. Since then, however, Ivory Coast shocked the defending champions, Senegal, in the round of 16 and are now on a run that seems to be the stuff of fairytales after what was a horror show at the start of the tournament. A bridge too far for DR Congo – Their run to the semifinal was fantastic and promised even more but on the day they struggled to keep pace with the hosts.