Super Eagles Beat Bafana Bafana to their Own Game

Nigeria's Super Eagles, Wednesday evening, beat their South African counterpart, the Bafana Bafana, in one of the semi final clashes of the ongoing 2024 African Cup of Nations, AFCON, to book a place in the final match. 

The Nigerian senior national football team, largely placed on the edge by their South Africa opponents, kept their cool after a pulsating 90 minutes of full time play, including extra half an hour, to emerge winners in the ensuing penalty shootout. 

Although the first half of the game went the way of the South Africans in terms of control, it however, ended goalless.

The Eagles became more determined in the second half, effectively seizing control, with the ensuing pressure leading to a spot kick following the downing of flying Victor Osimen in the Bafana Bafana box. 

Captain fantastic, Troos Ekong, was on hand to convert the spot kick in ways similar to the one against the Elephant of Cote D'voire. 

The Nigerian team went on to score what looked like a great Osimen second goal, which was however ruled out following VAR intervention and subsequent award of penalty to the opponents over an earlier infraction in the Nigerian 18 yard box.

From a possible 2:0 in favour of the Super Eagles, the South Africans converted the awarded spot kick, almost literally turning the match on its head.

Thereafter, the South African team practically took the initiatives, raiding the Nigerian side ceaselessly. In one of such raids, Super Eagles goal ender, Stanley Nwabali, was forced to parry a one-on-one shot into an on-running South Africa attacker, who ceremoniously canonned the close range gift over the bar. 

Remarkably, the South African lads held unto control, leaving occasional forays to the Nigerian team, one of which almost resulted in another spot kick for the Nigerian side. However, VAR ruled it a free kick right at the edge of the 18 yard box, the ensuing kick by Iheanacho easily picked up by a very confident Bafana Bafana goallee, Ronwen Williams. 

The extra time ended barren as the South African players wanted, cocksure they will overrun their Nigerian opponents in penalty shootout, the same way they did Cape Verde team, following a superlative performance by their goal keeper hero, Williams, who went on to save four of the spot kicks and create a tournament record. 

But it turned that it was Nigeria's super goal tender, Nwabili, who became the hero of the evening, having denied the Bafana Bafana two possible goals.

Ironically however, the famed Williams could not stop any of Nigeria's spot kicks outside of the canon shot taken by Ola Aina, which flew over the cross bar. 

With the victory, the Super Eagles zoomed into the final, awaiting the winner of the other semi final clash between host country Cote D'voire and Congo Democratic Republic.