A semi-final spot at the ongoing 2019 Africa Cup of Nations is up for grabs when the Super Eagles of Nigeria take on the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in one of the tournament’s quarter-final games today.
The match between two past winners of the African Cup of Nations, billed for Cairo International Stadium, will be broadcast live at 8pm on SuperSport 7 and 10 on all DStv packages, and SuperSport Select 2 and 4 on GOtv Max and Plus packages.
The Super Eagles, who posted two underwhelming victories and lost 0 – 2 to minnows, Madagascar booked their place in the quarter-final after a hard-fought 3 – 2 victory over continental powerhouse and defending champions, Cameroon, on Saturday.
South Africa, on the other hand, qualified for the knockout stage as one of the third-best placed teams. They advanced to the quarter-final with an impressive performance against hosts and one of the pre-tournament favourites, Egypt, in front of 80,000 fans at the Cairo International Stadium.
Both teams have met 13 times, with six Nigerian victories against South Africa’s two, the most recent being the 2 – 0 away victory over the Super Eagles in a 2019 AFCON Group E qualifier played in June 2017. The return leg last November in Johannesburg ended 1 – 1.
Coach Gernot Rohr will once again look to Odion Ighalo for inspiration, with the China-based striker seeming to have rediscovered his scoring touch. The Super Eagles coach will also hope that his side’s defence, which has proved a source of worry, will enjoy better protection by hard-working midfielders, Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo. The Super Eagles can also count on midfielders Alex Iwobi and defender Ola Aina to provide attacking spark.
The Bafana Bafana look very capable of ending the Super Eagles’ dream of adding to their three AFCON victories. The 1996 winners will take inspiration from the staggering counter-attacking performance against Egypt and their main offensive weapons, Percy Tau and Thembinkosi Lorch, the 2018/2019 ABSA Premiership Best Player. Both players showed how much menace they are capable of against the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Coach Stuart Baxter can also depend on Lebo Mothiba, who has been a source of irritation to defenders since the tournament began, the creativity of Bongani Zungu and the reliability of Dean Furman in midfield.
All the matches of AFCON 2019 are available to DStv subscribers on Premium, Compact Plus, Compact and Family packages, while selected matches will be available to DStv Access subscribers. On GOtv, the matches are available to subscribers on GOtv Max and GOtv Plus packages.
For more information on the unmatched football on DStv and GOtv and the upcoming fixtures, visit www.supersport.com
Anthony Nlebem
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