TotalEnergies CAF AFCON semi-finals: Five things to look out for
The two semi-final matches of the TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations will be played Wednesday in Bouake and Abidjan.
Nigeria will take on South Africa, while hosts Cote d’Ivoire will play DR Congo in the last four games.
Below are the five things to look out for.
Battle of the shot-stoppers
An interesting goalkeeper battle will ensue in Bouake. Stanley Nwabali has only conceded one goal with the Super Eagles en route to the three-time champions to the semi-finals.
Ironically, Nwabali plies his trade in South Africa for Chippa United and has faced Bafana Bafana shot-stopper Ronwen Williams before at the club level.
High in confidence following his heroic displays against Cape Verde that saw him make history by saving four spot-kicks, Williams will be hoping to continue in his rich vein of form.
Ademola Lookman chasing the golden boot
Despite being knocked out of the competition, Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue Lopez still tops the goalscoring charts with five goals.
Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman has been enjoying a rich vein of form accompanied by three goals that bring him into contention for the Golden Boot.
Bouake bids farewell
The Stade de la Paix in Boake hosts its last TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire match after playing host to Group D matches and the previous two knockout rounds.
Several exciting matches took place at the venue. They were made memorable by the highly vocal and colorful fans of Bouake, who are expected to create an excellent atmosphere for one last time on Wednesday.
DR Congo is looking at causing a major upset
Cote d’Ivoire will be looking at painting a different picture from the humiliating 4-0 thrashing suffered at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpe at the hands of Equatorial Guinea in the group stages.
On Wednesday, they face a determined DR Congo side ready to cause another upset in front of a sold-out 60,000-capacity arena.
New finalists guaranteed
The TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 has seen a number of upsets.
All four semi-finalists in this year’s edition were not in the last edition’s semi-final, guaranteeing two new finalists after the semi-final round on Wednesday. The two finalists remain to be seen.
