The 11th Caf Africa Junior Championship will reach the knock out stage on Wednesday when Nigeria's Golden Eaglets face the Amajimbo of South Africa in the first semifinal at the Stade Seyni Kountche in Niamey.
Nigeria, are the defending champions at world level and are favourites ahead of the clash, which will be the first between the two sides at this level in a a major tournament.
The Golden Eaglets, who finished second behind the Ivory Coast at the last edition in Morocco two years ago will hope to go one better by lifting the title this time out.
A friendly international arranged between the two teams in Kaduna, Nigeria a few months prior to the championship in Niamey failed to see the light of the day after South Africa pulled out citing security reasons.
The stage is now set for the two teams to gauge themselves in what promises to be an exciting encounter- with goals guaranteed.
South Africa have been the highest scorers in the tournament so far with seven goals. Nigeria scored one short , but also conceded three less goals compared to South Africa's five, numbers which portray a potentially all attacking menu for fans on Wednesday.
Match background
Nigeria go into Wednesday's clash with South Africa as the number one team in Group A after notching up seven points, same as Guinea, but with a better goal difference.
South Africa came second behind Mali who topped the group to set up the semi final clash with Nigeria. The Amajimbos raked in five points from three matches, winning one and drawing two.
Road to the semi-finals
Nigeria
Niger 0 Nigeria 2 (Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Nwakali)
Nigeria 1 Guinea 1 (Kelechi Nwakali)
Zambia 1 Nigeria 3 (Victor Osimhen-2, Kelechi Nwakali)
South Africa:
Ivory Coast 2 South Africa 2 (Sibongakonke Mbatha, Eric Mayo)
Mali 2 South Africa 2 (Katlego Mohamme ,Luvuyo Mkatshana)
South Africa 3 (Maluleke-2,Fokem-own goal) Cameroun 1
Form coming into the game
Nigeria: W D W
South Africa: D D W
Group standings after group stage
Nigeria: P 3 W 2 D 1 L 0 GF 6 GA 2 GD +4 PTS 7 POS 1
South Africa: P3 W 1 D 2 L 0 GF 7 GA 5 GD +2 PT 5 POS 2
Players to watch:
Nigeria:
Kelechi Nwakali- Skipper and leader of the Nigerian team looking to go one better than the class of 2013 by lifting the African crown for the first time.
World Champion Golden Eaglets © shengolpix
The lanky midfielder is the set piece specialist in the team as his goal against hosts Niger in the first game of the competition can attest to.
Nwakali is the younger brother of Chidiebere Nwakali who was part of the World Cup winning team at UAE two years ago. He has a fantastic range of passing and his vision bellies his young age.
Victor Osimhen: Alongside Nwakali, they have shared all the goals scored by Nigeria n the tournament. Osimhen has been likened to Rashidi Yekini because of his frame and ability to finish in the box.
Not the quickest by any mile, but he has an uncanny sense of positioning. H also packs a shot in his boots. Nigeria will need him to be firing on all cylinders.
South Africa:
Nelson Maluleke: The stand out performer in a South Africa team that has become the revelation of the tournament. Maluleke has scored three goals so far n the competition and will be looking to add to his tally when they meet Nigeria on Wednesday.
The midfielder has been the conductor of the Amajimbos who have scored more goals than any other team in the group stages, he will be the main man in the South African side on match day.
Amajimbo © shengolpix
Katlego Mohamme: After a shaky start to the tournament, the centre back has grown in leaps and bounds and was instrumental to South Africa keeping a low score line against a rampant Mali side while also getting a goal in the process.
He also snuffed out most of the Camerounian attacks in their last group game as the Amajimbo beat Cameroun to advance to the semi-finals.
What they said:
""We are proud of our achievements here in Niger. It's a wonderful thing that we are able to get to this stage
"The boys have done us proud and we are delighted with our performances in the competition. The boys have done well. I'm proud of them.
"We don't fear anyone. Nigeria are the world champions and we have to be at our best to beat them in the semi-finals.
"We believe in ourselves and our dreams. We will be ready for the game.
Petrus Molefe Ntseki- South Africa coach
"No, I don't fear any team or prefer to meet any. Our major concern now is to make sure the boys are refreshed and ready for the semi-finals.
"Despite our qualification, there are areas we need to still work on and players to get back to full fitness from the knocks they suffered in the group stages.
"If you want to win the cup, you have to beat the team in front of you. That is the only way to become champions. We are not afraid of anybody, but we also respect our opponents
Emmanuel Amunike, Nigeria coach.
Teams:
Nigeria:
Akpan Udoh, Abbas Usman, Saddam Awal, Abdullahi Suleiman, Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Nwakali, Uko Aniete, Ebere Osinachi, Ayodeji Bamidele, Ebere Osinachi, Zakari Halilu, Chukwueze Samuel, Amos Benjamin, Lazarus John, Chibueze Kanu, Kingsley Michael,Orji Okonkwo, Christian Charles, Maxwell Paul, Nazifi Yahaya, Suleiman Mohammed, Nwokoecha Chukwuebuka.
South Africa
Mondli Mpoto, Katlego Mohamme, Atehnkosi Dlala, Notha Ncogbo, Sibongakonke Mbatha, Luvuyo Mkatshana, Nelson Maluleke, Wiseman Meyiwa, Thendo Mukumela, Eric Mayo, Reeve Fosler, Sanele Tshabalala, Riyaaz Ismael, Vuyo Mantje, Gadinkane Modise, Liiam Jordan, Keanu Cupido, Edwin Sekhwama, James Monyame, Mxolisis Skei.
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