Nigerian duo of William Troost-Ekong and Kelechi Iheanacho have heaped praise on Bafana Bafana following their closely contested semi-final clash at the 2023 AFCON.
Despite Nigeria securing a hard-fought victory after the dreaded penalty shootout and a spot in the final, Iheanacho and Troost-Ekong acknowledged the quality and resilience of their opponents.
Bafana and the Super Eagles had played a 1-1 draw after extra time and went straight to penalties.
Troos-Ekong, who captained the Super Eagles, converted a penalty early in the second half to put Nigeria ahead.
Teboho Mokoena levelled terms from the spot late in the game. While the PAOK defender, Troost-Ekong converted his spot-kick during the shootout, Mokoenaโs was saved by Chippa United goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.
The Chilli Boys goalie turned hero as he saved two penalties, guiding Nigeria to the final where they face hosts Ivory Coast.
Leicester City star Iheanacho commended Bafanaโs journey to the AFCON semi-finals. He highlighted their tactical awareness and execution.
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“They’re really good in all positions,” he said, acknowledging Bafanaโs effectiveness in specific areas of the pitch. “They gave us a good game. We gave them a game. It’s a really good game to watch.”
“They’re a very good side. They played very well, they’ve been together for a long time, they know themselves. I think they’re a wonderful team.”
The Nigerian star extended well wishes to them ahead of the third and fourth-place play-off. Bafana take on DR Congo on Saturday night at the Stade Fรจlix Houphouรซt-Boigny.
“Kudos to them and congratulations for getting to this stage. I wish them well in the third-place play-off,” Iheanacho said.
Troost-Ekong also admitted that it was โa difficult gameโ, adding that โSouth Africa were fantastic.โ
South Africa have won many hearts with their displays at the AFCON. They lost the first game 2-0 to Mali before humbling Namibia 4-0. A draw against Tunisia secured passage to the Last 16, where they beat Morocco 2-0.
Ronwen Williams was the hero in the quarterfinal, saving four penalties to send Bafana to the semi-finals.
Coach Hugo Broos also showered his charges with praise, saying they โgive me a lot of satisfactionโ. Iโm proud as a coach to be a coach of that team. So the rest the future will tell us,โ Broos said.
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