South Africa looking for just a second all-time win against Nigeria in AFCON semifinals
Nigeria vs South Africa - 07/02/2024
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South Africa and Nigeria have clashed 11 times dating back to 2004. The Bafana Bafana won just one of those fixtures. Can South Africa shock Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals?
According to sportsbooks, Nigeria are heavy favourites to win the semifinal against South Africa. A win for the South Africans would be one of the upsets of the year in international football.
Both teams are in excellent form ahead of the match on Wednesday. Nigeria went unbeaten in the group stage, taking seven points from nine, scoring three goals and conceding once.
The Super Eagles then defeated Cameroon 2-0 and Angola 1-0 in the knockout stages. Nigeria’s defence is leading the way, with just one goal conceded in the AFCON tournament.
South Africa only picked up four points from three games in the group stage. They scored four goals and conceded two times.
The Bafana Bafana’s defence stepped up in the knockout stages, conceding zero goals in the round of 16 and quarterfinals.
South Africa defeated Morocco 2-0 before knocking out Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties. The quarterfinal match finished nil-nil at the end of 120 minutes.
The teams met 11 times dating back to 2004, with Nigeria posting a record of 6W-4D-1L. Nigeria and South Africa last met in 2019 during the AFCON. The Super Eagles won the fixture 2-1.
Nigeria’s matches have been low scoring at the AFcon tournament. Three of Nigeria’s five matches ended in 1-0 victories. Could that trend continue, with Nigeria winning 1-0 against South Africa?
Since losing to Mali, 2-0, to start the AFCON tournament, South Africa are on a four-match unbeaten streak.
They kept clean sheets in each of their last four fixtures. Two of those four matches ended in nil-nil draws.
Themba Zwane leads South Africa in goals at AFCON, with two. Meanwhile, Ademola Lookman leads Nigeria in scoring stats, with three goals.
All five of Nigeria’s matches at AFCON finished with under 2.5 goals. South Africa had four of their five games at the tournament end with under 2.5 goals.
This year’s tournament is another low-scoring AFCON. The 48 matches at the AFCON had an average of 2.35 goals.
Both Nigeria and South Africa relied on their defences to reach the semifinals. The teams will once again rely on their defences.
Our algorithm predicts another Nigeria clean sheet win. Nigeria kept a clean sheet in their last four matches and should do it again versus South Africa. Our goal prediction is for a 1-0 Nigeria win.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
Acn
433819
1
1 - 0
1.74
31°
1.57
1.57
3.60
7.00
no
no
no
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