LAST UPDATE | 7 Feb
Nigeria 1-1 South Africa
(After extra time; Nigeria won 4-2 on penalties)
LEICESTER’S KELECHI IHEANACHO held his nerve over the winning penalty to send Nigeria through to the Africa Cup of Nations final after a thriller against South Africa in Bouake.
The match finished 1-1 after extra time and the three-time champions will face hosts Ivory Coast, who beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0, in the final on Sunday.
Both regular-time goals also came from penalties with captain William Troost-Ekong scoring after 67 minutes for Nigeria and Teboho Mokoena equalised from a 90th-minute spot-kick.
The Mokoena equaliser came after Nigeria thought they had scored a second goal through a tap-in from star forward Victor Osimhen.
But play was called back to the other end of the field after VAR alerted the Egyptian referee that South African Percy Tau had been fouled in the area, and the match official concurred.
Khuliso Mudau had a chance to win the South Africa in added time at the end of regular time, but blazed over after goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali parried a Mokoena free kick.
South Africa finished with 10 men when Grant Kekana was sent off on 115 minutes for a last-defender foul.
Ivory Coast 1-0 DR Congo
SEBASTIAN HALLER WAS Sebastien Haller was the hero with the only goal of the game as hosts Ivory Coast beat DR Congo 1-0 to book their place in the final.
Starting for the first time at the tournament following injury, Borussia Dortmund striker Haller connected with a Max-Alain Gradel cross in the 65th minute at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium, his shot looping over the goalkeeper and in.
That was enough to settle a tense but open semi-final showdown, leaving the two-time champions — who were on the brink of elimination in the group stage — as the first host country to reach the AFCON final since Egypt in 2006.
Ivory Coast’s run at the tournament had been described on the eve of this game as “miraculous” by their own interim coach Emerse Fae, the man who replaced the sacked Jean-Louis Gasset following embarrassing results in the group stage.
The Elephants scraped through to the last 16 as the last of the four best third-placed teams, then ousted reigning champions Senegal on penalties.
They followed that by beating Mali in the quarter-finals — despite playing most of the match with 10 men — with their winner coming in added time in extra time.
