With Bafana Bafana and Nigeria set to renew their rivalry in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Friday, we decided to rewind to their latest titanic tussle, at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
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A lot is riding on the upcoming clash in Uyo as an automatic qualification place at the next World Cup is up for grabs in Group C. After not meeting for five years, in 2024 South Africa and the Super Eagles will meet once again in a competitive setting.
The first time the two teams collided this year was in the semi-finals of AFCON 2023, after both teams had entered the tournament with dampened expectations for different reasons.
Having just been defeated by Rwanda in World Cup qualification, the South African public had minimal hopes of the nation doing well at the AFCON, despite having just been on a 12-game unbeaten streak that included a victory over 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists Morocco. While Bafana's Belgian tactician Hugo Broos would have been under pressure to achieve in west Africa, Nigeria's then-coach, Jose Peseiro, was under even more scrutiny.
The three-time African champions were unable to register a single win in either of their first two World Cup qualification matches. Given the stature Nigeria boasts on the continent, fans of the African powerhouse were disappointed to see them fail to beat both Lesotho and Zimbabwe, with calls for Peseiro to be sacked just before the AFCON gaining momentum.
The Nigeria Football Federation stuck to its guns, however, and the Portuguese head coach led this team at Africa's biggest football tournament. While they had an underwhelming start to the showpiece, drawing 1-1 with Equatorial Guinea, they would win their next four matches, against hosts Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon and Angola. They did all this without conceding a goal on their way to the semi-finals.
In the case of South Africa, their 2023 AFCON campaign also started off in terrible fashion as they were beaten 2-0 by Mali. Broos would ditch the fluid football Bafana played in that match for a more pragmatic approach and it bore fruit as they, like Nigeria, would go on to keep clean sheets in their next four matches en route to a semi-final berth, and it is there where they met their west African rivals.
The Nigeria squad, on paper, had better players and many expected their majority-European-based outfit to dominate the Broos contingent that was mostly made up of players from the DStv Premiership. However, Bafana did not receive the memo. From kick-off, South Africa dominated possession of the ball and even created the more clear-cut chances as Percy Tau and Evidence Makgopa had opportunities to test Stanley Nwabali early in the match.
The Al Ahly and Orlando Pirates attackers, respectively, squandered them and while the 1996 African champions would go on to dominate possession, their opponents grew into the game and began showing their quality. Victor Osimhen proved a handful for Mothobi Mvala and Grant Kekana, and eventually in the second half, the Napoli man baited Mvala into fouling him in the box, with the referee awarding Peseiro's charges a penalty in the 67th minute. Captain William Troost-Ekong stepped up and slotted the ball into the back of the net to give Nigeria the lead.
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South Africa would again assume the ascendancy in terms of possession as they looked to find an equaliser, but that made them susceptible to counter-attacks and in the 85th minute, it seemed that Osimhen had put a dagger in Bafana's hearts as he tapped the ball into the back of the net after the team had threaded together a clean break.
The tournament was full of controversy, and this final four clash was no different as, after the Lagos native thought he had given his side a 2-0 lead, referee Amin Omar consulted VAR and adjudged that the Alhassan Yusuf tackle that started the counter was actually a foul in the box on Tau. A penalty was then awarded to South Africa instead, and in a high-pressure situation, Teboho Mokoena scored past Nwabali to level matters in the 90th minute.
Broos' men even had the chance to win the game in added time when Mokoena struck a ferocious free-kick that Nigeria's Chippa United shot-stopper was unable to get ahold of, and the rebound fell to Mamelodi Sundowns right-back Khuliso Mudau, but he skied his effort and the match headed to extra-time.
In the allotted extra 30 minutes of the match, the Super Eagles were the more threatening side as they tested Ronwen Williams with a few efforts on target. Terim Moffi almost gave his side another lead late on in extra-time, but Grant Kekana was the last man and he fouled the striker and was given a red card in the 115th minute. Bafana would hold out with 10 men, though, and a penalty shootout would ensue.
Having progressed to their semi-final clash thanks to Williams' heroics in the quarter-finals, where he became the first goalkeeper in AFCON history to save four penalties against Cape Verde, the South Africa skipper was unable to have a similar performance. Nigeria would score four of their five penalties as Mokoena and Makgopa missed theirs for the Super Eagles to progress to their record seventh AFCON final.
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It is unlikely that Friday's match between them will be as pressure-packed, but there is an argument that it is even more important given that a place at sports' most viewed spectacle is at stake, so fans can expect an exciting encounter between the African giants.
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