At 6 pm Nigerian time on Wednesday, the Super Eagles will be up against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the semi-final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations holding in Ivory Coast. The clash between the bitter rivals is for a spot in the final, thereby increasing the stakes.

The match will be played at the 40,000-capacity Stade de la Paix in Bouaké. For the Super Eagles, Wednesday’s clash is their 16th semi-final – a tournament record, while the Bafana Bafana are playing in their 4th semifinal, and their first since 2000 (which they lost to, guess who….. the Super Eagles).

Ahead of the clash, here are some facts to know:

Path to Final:

The Eagles and the Bafana Bafana have had slightly similar paths to the final, with both teams starting on a disappointing note, but have waxed stronger as the tournament went by. Both teams have the joint-best defence, with 4 clean sheets each in 5 matches.

For the Super Eagles, they started with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea, before picking up 1-0 wins over hosts Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau. In the round of 16, the Super Eagles saw off Cameroon 2-0 and then ran out as comfortable 1-0 winners against Angola in the quarterfinal.

For the Bafana Bafana, they started their campaign with a 2-0 loss to Mali but bounced back with a comprehensive 4-0 win over neighbours Namibia, and wrapped up the group stage with a goalless draw against Tunisia. In the round of 16, they shocked the football world with an upset 2-0 win over World Cup semifinalists Morocco, and in the quarterfinal defeated Cape Verde on penalties after a goalless draw.

Players to Watch:

Africa’s best player Victor Osimhen is certainly the star man for the Super Eagles, but other players have emerged as key players in the tourney. Ademola Lookman with 3 goals, Moses Simon with 2 Man-of-the-Match performances, and the entire backline of William Troost-Ekong, Calvin Bassey, Semi Ajayi and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili have proven to be reliable stalwarts for the Eagles.

Before the tournament, Nigeria’s deadly attack was heralded as the key to success, but in the competition proper, the defence line has proven to be more influential.

For the Bafana Bafana, veteran playmaker Percy Tau remains a deadly force, and the team have other key players including Teboho Mokoena who scored a fantastic free kick in the win against Morocco, with forward Themba Zwane also contributing with 2 goals against Namibia.

Special recognition goes to goalkeeper Ronwen Williams who has kept 4 clean sheets and wowed the football world by saving 4 penalty kicks in the shootout win against Cape Verde – the first goalkeeper in the history of AFCON to do so.

Previous AFCON Meetings: 

Both sides have met at AFCON 3 times, with the Super Eagles winning all encounters. Nigeria won 2-0 in the semifinal in 2000, 4-0 in the group stage in 2004 and 2-1 in the quarterfinal in 2019.

Overall Head to Head:

Both sides have met 14 times, with the Super Eagles being the dominant side with 7 wins and 5 draws while South Africa has just 2 wins.

Tournament Record:

The Super Eagles have won AFCON 3 times, finishing as runners-up 4 times and as bronze medalists 8 times, for a total of 15 AFCON podium finishes – the highest in the history of the competition.

The Bafana Bafana are relative newcomers to AFCON, having previously been left out of international football. They made their debut in 1996, which they hosted and won, finished as runners-up in the next edition in 1998, and as bronze medalists in the next edition in 2000.