POLL | Nigeria vs Bafana: Who will win the grudge battle?

Bafana Bafana meet Nigeria in the hotly contested Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) semifinal on Wednesday and fans from the two countries have started simmering over their rivalry, with the commentary topping the charts on social media. 

The semifinal will take place at Stade de la Paix in Bouaké, Ivory Coast (7pm SA time). 

The Super Eagles have a better record in the tournament, having won the Afcon trophy three times (2013, 1994 and 1980). Nigeria coach José Peseiro's team have not lost a game at this Nations Cup thus far. The team has beaten Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Angola. 

Bafana, on the other hand, went to Ivory Coast as notable underdogs. They have not won the Afcon in almost three decades since their lone victory in the tournament as hosts in 1996. The South African national team has underachieved on the world stage for almost two decades.

However, coach Hugo Broos’ side has impressed at this Cup of Nations and made it a potential game-changer in their fortunes.

South Africa got their campaign off to a bad start, going down 2-0 to Mali. They have shown resilience in the tournament, and bounced back to beat Namibia 4-0, and draw with Tunisia to advance from group E.

South Africa dramatically knocked out 2022 World Cup semifinalist and Africa’s top-ranked side Morocco in the last 16 (2-0), and won a nail-biting quarterfinal against Cape Verde when goalkeeper Ronwen Williams made four saves in the penalty shoot-out. 

The tournament has been dubbed as the rise of the underdogs after four-time champions Ghana were knocked out of the competition in group stages with only three points.

TimesLIVE sports editor Marc Strydom wrote more about the rivalry between Nigeria and Bafana here.