Nigeria legend dismisses Bafana’s chances in AFCON semifinal

Nigerian footballing legend Segun Odegbami has no doubt that the Super Eagles will beat Bafana Bafana on Wednesday and reach the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

“I said long before the finals that we would be champions of Africa. Many people thought I was just sounding off. Now, they are seeing the light. Everyone appears to believe now that the Super Eagles can do it,” said Odegbami, according to Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper

“Now that we are in the semifinals, I see that we are going to be playing the host nation, Cote d’Ivoire in the final. We are beating South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire will beat the Democratic Republic of Congo. The stage is set for a classic Final match on February 11.”

1980 Champion

Odegbami has experience of winning the Africa Cup of Nations, doing so with Nigeria in 1980, when he netted two goals in a 3-0 win in the final against Algeria.

His confidence, however, is only likely to inspire Hugo Broos’ Bafana, who have already exceeded expectations in making it all the way to the last four, taking down World Cup semifinalists Morocco along the way.

Nigeria, who are looking for a first AFCON title since 2013, have beaten Bafana in both their meetings at the AFCON finals up to now. In 2004, Styles Phumo’s Bafana were hammered 4-0 in the group stages, while in 2019 in Egypt, Nigeria beat Stuart Baxter’s Bafana 2-1 in the quarterfinals.