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Nigeria reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations last night after a tense semi-final against South Africa which went the distance.
Kelechi Iheanacho converted the winning penalty as Nigeria held their nerve for a 4-2 shootout win over South Africa to reach the AFCON final.
William Troost-Ekong’s spot-kick in normal time had looked like sending the Super Eagles through without further stress, particularly when Victor Osimhen turned the ball home with five minutes remaining.
That goal though was chalked off, and South Africa awarded a penalty of their own for a foul in the build-up. Teboho Mokoena converted to force extra time, and penalties followed. Mokoena could not repeat the trick in the shootout and while Ola Aina blasted his penalty over the bar, Evidence Makgopa’s miss handed the advantage back to the Super Eagles. Iheanacho had the chance to win it, and did just that to set up a final It was always like to be a nervy semi-final, between two sides who went into the match having kept four consecutive clean sheets at AFCON. There was little in the way of clear-cut chances before half-time, Evidence Makgopa going as close as anyone when his curling effort was tipped away by Stanley Nwabili.
But Nigeria improved after the break, pushing South Africa back and building the pressure, with Victor Osimhen threatening to open the scoring as he headed over at the back post.
The goal came midway through the second-half, Osimhen unsurprisingly involved. He drifted past the challenges, drove into the box and went down as Mothobi Mvala stuck out a leg and tripped him.
Captain Troost-Ekong stepped up, to face a goalkeeper in Ronwen Williams who saved four penalties in the South Afri-ca’s quarter-final shootout win over Cape Verde. He could well have saved this one too, but Troost-Ekong’s spot-kick crept underneath him and into the back of the net —Standard.
Online Reporter