The Super Eagles of Nigeria have defeated the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the semifinals stage of the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. With the victory, the Super Eagles have booked a place in the finals of the tournament.
The Nigerian team found the back of the net in the 67 minutes of the game after Williams Troost-Ekong converted the ball into the back of the net from the penalty spot.
Just when the Nigerian team believed that they had sealed the victory, the South African team was awarded a penalty kick, and Teboho Mokoena converted the ball into the goal in the 90 minute.
After an extra 30 minutes of play, a winner could not still be decided, paving the way for penalty shootouts.
The South African goalkeeper, William, has been fantastic in the competition, and in their last game against Senegal, he stopped four penalty kicks to push his team into the semifinals. So, when the game was heading into penalty shootouts, a lot of people thought that South Africa stood a better chance, but the Nigerian coach, Paseiro, made three tactical substitutions which helped the Nigerian team secure victory.
1. Terem Moffi.
When Paseiro brought in Moffi in the 110th minute to replace Victor Osimhen, some people wondered why he was bringing in a striker who was relatively unknown in the tournament to replace the African football player of the year, Osimhen.
Apart from the fact that Moffi had some fantastic runs in the few minutes that he was in the game, he was a fantastic penalty "material." He scored the first penalty for the Nigerian team, and that first goal undoubtedly boosted the confidence of the team.
2. Kenneth Omeruo.
The introduction of Omeruo in the 120th minute of the game was one of the most tactical substitutions that Paseiro has made so far in this tournament. One could have asked what Omeruo was coming into the pitch to play when the game was almost over, but obviously, he was brought in because of penalty shootouts.
He is one of the fantastic penalty-takers that the Nigerian team has, and his spot kick was one of the most impressive we saw.
3. Kelechi Iheneacho.
The intriguing thing about Iheneacho's is that he has not played any game since the competition started, but in his first appearance in the tournament, he became the hero of the game, having scored the final goal that sealed the victory for the Nigerian side.
Iheneacho was brought into the game in the 102nd minute of the game to replace Ademola Lookman, and he did not disappoint the purpose for which he was brought in.
Comments