Nigeria vs South Africa: The madness of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations

By

Nigeria vs South Africa Live : The madness of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Nigeria vs South Africa continues on Wednesday. As do the mind games.This time, South Africa’s Stuart Baxter is at the receiving end, but he’s not falling for it. Bafana Bafana stunned everyone by beating Egypt in the last 16 and now they have a chance to spring another surprise Nigeria vs South Africa they take on Nigeria in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Ahead of that incredible win over Egypt, Baxter talked up the “national disaster” beating the hosts would result in.

South Africa coach Stuart Baxter dismissed the assertion from his Nigeria counterpart Gernot Rohr that Bafana Bafana is the favourites heading into Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final showdown.

Baxter’s side shocked tournament hosts Egypt in the last 16 having only scraped through the group stage, but he was quick to temper expectations against a Nigeria team that eliminated defending champions Cameroon in the last round.

“Nigeria is absolutely one of the best teams on the continent and have been for a long time. One game doesn’t make us favourites. I don’t think he’s (Rohr) fooling anybody,” Baxter told reporters Tuesday.We’ll be respecting Nigeria but not fearing them. We will have to produce a very good South Africa performance to beat them.”

The two are teams are familiar opponents like South Africa and Nigeria were paired together in qualifying. Baxter oversaw a 2-0 away win in Uyo at the start of the campaign before a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg.

South Africa’s shock 1-0 defeat of Egypt was played in front of a capacity 75,000 crowd at Cairo International Stadium, and although a much lower attendance is anticipated at the same venue Wednesday, Baxter doesn’t believe that will have an impact on his players.

“Dare I say the crowds in South Africa for some international matches are quite sparse as well,” he said. “The players were inspired by the crowd the other evening, but I hope they don’t need that sort of crowd to find that sort of inspiration.

“This is special now, you’re getting to the sharp end of the stick and it’s people that think like winners who will end up winning to the tournament.

“I think we know we’ve got a tough opponent. I think we know we’ve got to be completely focused and I think we understand that it is going to take all the mental energy we can muster and not be dependent on getting up because the crowd is up.”The Super Eagles got the better of West African neighbours Cameroon 3-2 in their entertaining round of 16 clash in Alexandria. On the hand, Bafana Bafana shocked host nation, Egypt 1-0 in front of their home fans at the Cairo International Stadium in a massive upset. Nigeria’s pedigree in this tournament makes them perennial contenders – victory would give them a sixth successive slot in the semi-finals and enhance their current run of three wins from their last four.

The three-time winners lifted the trophy in South Africa in 2013 and have lost just one of their last 11 matches – that setback against Madagascar in their final group game, when coach Gernot Rohr rested several players.

Three goals by players with plenty of Premier League experience helped them knock out reigning champions Cameroon during a frenetic round-of-16 clash in which the Super Eagles showed their ruthlessness in response to having far less possession than the holders.

Former Watford striker Odion Ighalo put Nigeria ahead in Alexandria, only for Stephane Bahoken and Clinton Njie to turn the tables at half-time by both scoring within three minutes.

Ighalo equalised and set up Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi’s winner, crystallising how Nigeria’s players have occasionally been unrecognisable to supporters familiar with their exploits in domestic competition.

Iwobi produced the kind of quality that Arsenal fans wish he could produce more consistently to clinch victory with a skilful finish, while former Leicester City winger Ahmed Musa, who left the Foxes last year and now plays for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, brimmed with fleet-footed intent and is perhaps poised to become one of the stars of this year’s tournament.

ADMIN

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prostitution; Nigerian Women At Growing Risk From Human Traffickers In Germany.

By
Image
According to InfoMigrants, Nigerian women are at growing risk from traffickers in Germany who exploit and engage them in prostitution. Read the full report below by InfoMigrants. The new prostitute protection law in Germany was meant to identify victims of human trafficking – most of them migrant women. More than 18 months after the law came into effect, thousands continue to be targeted for exploitation, and the risk for Nigerian women seems to be increasing. There are campervans parked by the roadside. Some have hearts painted on them, one says “girls, girls” in red letters. It’s an easy matter for someone to stop for a quick transaction in one of these Love-Mobiles – sex with one of the “girls” in exchange for the going rate. Prostitution is mainly legal in Germany, as are these mobile brothels. But many of the women in the business – including those working from the Love-Mobiles – are victims of illegal human trafficking. Most of the women are from Eastern Europe or Nige...
Read more

FULL TEXT: A sacrifice for our new political order – Ezekwesili

By
Image
“When the ACPN leadership approached me in a series of visits to appeal that I run for office on their platform, the party appeared to be a good fit. It was founded by some disgruntled PDP members some years ago, but when its prime founder decided to return to the PDP, a core of its membership refused to move back with him. I was told that they stayed back because of their opposition to the ways of the PDP. Considering my vocal disapproval of the PDP and the APC, I admired the ACPN’s decision to stand firm and refusal to be co-opted.” It has been an interesting one week since I made the tough but necessary decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency. I have been truly overwhelmed by the reactions to my announcement from Nigerians. Even in airports outside the country as I travelled last week, Nigerians walked up to me with questions, concerns, encouragement, and motivation. I also saw disappointment by some who had poured their hearts and hopes into actualising our mission ...
Read more

Update On Slay Queen Who Was Stripped Naked And Tortured Over Missing Phone.

By
Image
The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olusegun Odumosu, 24 hours to unravel those behind the torture and insertion of pepper into a girl’s private part in Benin City over alleged stealing of a mobile phone.  Chairman of the platform and former Student Union President of the University of Benin, Mr. Abubakar Yesufu, who said this in a statement yesterday, also urged the state Director, Department of State Services, DSS, to be involved in the investigation. A video of the incident, seen by Vanguard yesterday, showed the girl being stripped naked by a group of people, who inserted pepper into her private parts for allegedly stealing a phone. The unidentified girl was heard crying and saying she didn’t steal any phone, while she was being humiliated by the crowd. Yesufu said: “The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given the Edo State Commissioner of Police 24 hours to arrest and commence prosecution of all the street urchins behind thi...
Read more