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Bafana battle old foes Nigeria for Afcon final four place
South Africa will battle a familiar foe in Nigeria for a place in the semifinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations at Cairo International Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Kick-off is at 9pm CAT. - Live on SuperSport.
Bafana Bafana sent shockwaves through the African continent with a 1-0 win over hosts Egypt in front of 80 000 fans dressed in Pharaohs red this past weekend. Thembinkosi Lorch scored the decisive goal in the 85th minute to send the 1996 champions into the last eight.
The #TotalAFCON2019 quarter-finals kick off today ??#Terangalions v #LesÉcureuils#SuperEagles v #BafanaBafana pic.twitter.com/9F7IKib0Da
— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) July 10, 2019
Nigeria booked their place in the quarterfinals with a 3-2 win over defending champions Cameroon in Alexandria. Top scorer in qualifying, Odion Ighalo, bagged a brace while Arsenal's Alex Iwobi netted the winner.
Historically, the Super Eagles have had the upper hand in clashes between the two rivals, but Bafana Bafana will be quietly confident having racked up a five-game unbeaten streak against the West African's.
Thomas Kwenaite and Idah Peterside sat down ahead of tomorrow’s #TotalAFCON2019 quarter-final match between Nigeria and South Africa.
— SuperSport ???? (@SuperSportTV) July 9, 2019
Make sure to tune in to the action tomorrow.
?? #SuperEagles v #BafanaBafana
? 21:00 (CAT)
?? SS4 (SA) SS7 (ROA) & SS10 (ROA) pic.twitter.com/WaA9Ilke2o
The run includes a memorable 2-0 win over Nigeria in qualifying for this tournament and Bafana Bafana captain Thulani Hlatshwayo is hoping his troops will draw inspiration from that victory.
"We are looking forward to this game, coming up against Nigeria once more, and we will be banking on our display against them over the last two years," said Hlatshwayo.
"We know playing them will be tough, but we have a clear understanding of our mission, and we’ll give it our all once again. This is an opportunity for us to regain trust from the fans, to truly discover our identity and have confidence in our capabilities."
A new challenge is awaiting the #BafanaBafana?
— CAF (@CAF_Online) July 9, 2019
Take a look at their training photos????#TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/UcCV0qsyN8
Lebo Mothiba, who teed up Lorch for his match-winner in the Egyptian capital this past weekend, echoed Hlatshwayo's sentiments.
“The coach knows what we need to do against Nigeria," he added. "The boss is in charge of that, we will follow his instructions. For the match against Egypt, the coach really pushed us and we are ready for Nigeria and we want to give everything.”
The last time the two nations came to blows at an Afcon tournament, Super Eagles forward Peter Odemwingie scored two goals in two minutes in a 4-0 win for Nigeria at the 2004 tournament hosted in Tunisia.
The winner will face either Ivory Coast or Algeria for a place in the tournament final at the same venue on Sunday.
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