Nigeria’s U20 national team head coach, Aliyu Zubairu, has promised an even stronger showing when the Flying Eagles face off against long-time rivals South Africa in the first semi-final of the ongoing CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations.
The highly anticipated clash is scheduled for Thursday evening in Ismailia.
The seven-time champions booked their place in the final four after edging out defending champions Senegal in a dramatic quarter-final contest that ended 3-1 in a penalty shootout.
Analysts commended the Nigerians for their dominance in the tense encounter played at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium on Monday.
“I believe we are going to have a great semi-final against the South Africans. I can guarantee that our approach will be much better, as the anxiety of whether or not we will earn a FIFA World Cup ticket is no longer there. It was a tense 120 minutes for us and the defending champions on Monday,” Zubairu said.
“We have the World Cup ticket now and are quite happy. Against South Africa, we will play with great determination and composure, as we aim for the trophy, but without the tense atmosphere around the last match. Of course, we know the little matter of the rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa and what the game means, and we will go in there to do a real battle,” he added.
Zubairu, who guided El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri to last year’s President Federation Cup title, is confident that his team has grown stronger with each match, beginning from their opener against Tunisia on May 1st.
“We can all see that the team has improved and is actually getting better with each match. We will go all out against the South Africans.”
Historically, Nigeria remains the most successful team in the competition with seven titles, finishing second twice (1999 and 2007), and clinching third place in 2009 and 2013.
South Africa, meanwhile, had to dig deep in their quarter-final against DR Congo, finally securing a 1-0 win after extra time, also at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium.
While Nigeria dominated the tournament in the 1980s, winning four titles before South Africa’s return to international football post-apartheid, the Amajita only made their first U20 AFCON appearance in 1997, finishing as runners-up. That year, Nigeria didn’t qualify.
The two nations have met multiple times in the competition, including the 2009 bronze medal match where Nigeria triumphed 2-1.
Four years later, they repeated the bronze feat against Mali. In 2011, Nigeria lifted the trophy in South Africa, defeating Cameroon 3-2 in the final, while the hosts exited at the group stage.
South Africa failed to progress beyond the group stage in 2015, while Nigeria clinched their seventh title. Interestingly, the Flying Eagles didn’t qualify in 2017, the year South Africa placed fourth.
In 2019, Nigeria edged South Africa 5-3 in a penalty shootout to claim third place after a goalless draw in the group stage.
Thursday’s second semi-final fixture will feature hosts Egypt, four-time champions and conquerors of Ghana, battling Morocco in Cairo.
