Three-time champions Nigeria will face Algeria in a battle for the place in Africa Nations Cup of Nations final when they meet at the Cairo International Stadium on Sunday.
Kick off is at 21:00hrs CAT.
Nigeria beat South Africa in the quarter-final, with Samuel Chukwueze and William Troost-Ekong securing a 2-1 victory as the Bafana Bafana were unable to find a way through the dogged defence of Super Eagles, in a fight to push the match to extra-time.
The Super Eagles have not been impressive as expected as they finished second in Group B, behind the tournament surprise packs Madagascar.
At the last-16, Nigeria were forced to work hard to eliminate defending champions Cameroon. They won the entertaining match that was played in Alexandria 3-2.
The Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr stated before the start of the tournament that his aim was to reach the semi-finals. With the target now achieved, the German coach is confident they can overcome Algeria, a team that has scored 10 goals in Egypt, conceding only once.
“As coach, you’re always optimistic. We know they’re a good side but we have a strong team too. We can reasonably hope to win based on our last two performances but we’re wary because of our opponents,” said Rohr.
“We still have things to improve, for example, if we have chances to score a second goal we need to be more clinical. They’ve been more impressive than us on the whole so far.”
The Super Eagles will be depending on impressive attacker Chukwueze who has stood out more than others. He can be able to play as an attacking midfielder or a striker making him the most creative force in his side.
Odion Ighalo, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze have been among the standout players for the Eagles and should also feature in attack on Sunday.
For Algeria, the will be hoping to continue with their impressive performance. They needed penalties to qualify for the semi-finals on Thursday as the Elephants seemed hard to hunt. Regulation time ended 1-1 with Sofiane Feghouli’s first half effort cancelled out by the Ivorians after the break.
The Desert Foxes will be appearing in the semi-finals for the first time since 2010 and looking to return to the final for the first time since their only AFCON triumph in 1990.
At this year’s tournament, they have won four and drew one in five games and are a side that is determined not to give any possible advantage to their opponents in the match.
“We are ready and will do our best to prepare for the coming game. This is the semi-final so there are no favourites, the chances are equal,” said Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi during a pre-match press conference.
“Of course this AFCON is more difficult than that we won at home in 1990. We have great supporters who make us keener to have some good results to make them happy.”
Algeria have shown plenty of quality in attack with the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Adam Ounas and Baghdad Bounedjah. All three men have impressed in Egypt and should trouble the Nigerian defence that has not been particularly convincing.
Nigeria and Algeria have met in 19 matches where the Super Eagles have claimed nine wins compared to seven for the Fennec Foxes, while three games have been drawn.
The most recent clash between the two side was a 2018 World Cup qualifier in Constantine almost two years ago which ended 1-1, while their last meeting in an AFCON saw Nigeria win 1-0 in the third-place playoff of the 2010 edition in Angola.
