Nigeria clash with South Africa in the first of Wednesday's of the Africa Cup of Nations semi finals and not for the first time in the knockout rounds Bafana find themselves as the underdogs.
Later on Wednesday hosts Ivory Coast and DR Congo will contest the second of the semi finals. Lets first take in an outright betting update to win the tournament with BoyleSports.
Nigeria 1.27/1
Ivory Coast 2.05/1
DR Congo 53/10
South Africa 7/1
Note, odds quoted are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
Nigeria
A goal from Lookman just before half time was enough for Nigeria to see off Angola 1-0 in the quarter finals on Friday. Star striker Victor Osimhen also had a goal chalked off by VAR later in the game and the Super Eagles were full value for the win. Nigeria disposed of Cameroon in the Round of 16 with a 2-0 win when Lookman scored in each half.
Nigeria were unbeaten in Group A with 2 wins and 1 draw although an inferior goal difference saw them finish as runners up to Equatorial Guinea with hosts Ivory Coast somehow surviving in third spot and Guinea Bissau never got in a blow. After a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea in their opening group match Nigeria were 1-0 winners against hosts Ivory Coast and the Guinea-Bissau and they have conceded just the 1 goal in these finals so far.
South Africa
A day after Nigeria had booked their semi final ticket Bafana held their nerve in a penalty shoot out to get the better of Cape Verde in their quarter final. The game finished without a goal and keep Ronwen Williams was the hero, making a crucial save late on to force extra time and the Bafana captain then saved 4 Cape Verde spot kicks in a nervy shoot out which Bafana won 2-1.
South Africa came up against Morocco in the quarters, a side who at the time were the outright favourites to win the tournament. Bafana pulled off an upset result with a 2-0 win thanks to a second half goal from Makgopa and after Morocco missed an 85th minute penalty and had a man sent off Teboho Mokoena sealed the deal with a quality free kick in injury time.
Bafana were runners to Mali in Group E with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat against their name. Mali finished with 5 points, Bafana and Namibia both had 4 and Tunisia with 2 went home early. After missing a penalty and losing their opening match 2-0 to Mali Bafana put themselves on the board in some style in their second outing with a 4-0 win over Namibia. Bafana still had work to do to secure a last 16 spot when they took on Tunisia in their final group match, the game ended without a goal and that was enough.
The Betting
Nigeria are currently trading at around 6/10 to win the game with the draw at 26/10 and South Africa are priced at around 54/10
A game of 3 goals or more in total is priced at 1.72/1 and it's 1.76/1 for both teams to score.
Note, odds quoted are for regulation time and are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
To qualify for the final via any method of victory Nigeria are 0.28/1 and South Africa are priced at 29/10
Verdict:
Neither side has conceded a goal since the opening round of group matches and Bafana have benefited from fielding a settled line up in all of their games. If they are to reach the final Williams will no doubt be a key man and whilst you can understand why Nigeria are firm favourites, this has been a tournament full of upsets.
We shouldn't really let hearts rule heads where punting is involved and Nigeria have some class acts in their line up so this is another really tough task. With both defences in good shape I will take my chances on no more than 1 goal in regulation time.
Bets: Total goals under 1.5 at 1.47/1 with BoyleSports (regulation time)
Note, odds quoted are for regulation time and are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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