Afcon 2023 semi-finals: Nigeria take on S.Africa, Ivory Coast to play DR Congo

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00:00 the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations which kicks off in just a few hours time. That's when

00:06 Nigeria will take on South Africa and hours later the host nation Ivory Coast will play the Democratic

00:13 Republic of Congo. Well, covering the tournament for us is our sports reporter James Vecina. He

00:19 joins me now from Ivory Coast where these games are taking place. James, first of all, let's talk

00:25 about that match that's kicking off first and the Nigeria big relief because one of their

00:30 star strikers we understand is now able to play. Absolutely, we're into the final four here and

00:39 the good news for Nigeria is that Victor Osimene will be available for them. There's a lot of this

00:45 been one of the big concerns for the Super Eagles over the past few days. He had, we understand,

00:50 some abominable pain from his last game that carried on throughout. He was unable to go and

00:56 join his teammates in Bwake. He had to stay here in Abidjan for medical treatment because he was

01:03 unable to actually take part in the trainings before that. But the news came through that he

01:08 will now be available for them and that is a big, big relief as mentioned for them. Not that he's

01:12 been scoring so many goals, of course, the Africa player of the year hasn't been on the goal sheet

01:17 as much as he would have liked to, of course, as much as his team would have liked to, but he's

01:21 been instrumental in guiding his team and keeping the pace going and of pushing his opponents back

01:26 very, very much so in the last few games. He's been an essential player for them and his teammates

01:32 on either side of him up front have been there to do the work all together with him. So he's an

01:37 essential, essential part of the Nigerian squad. He'll be there with them today as they take off

01:43 on South Africa. South Africa, of course, who make it through in a fantastic way. They've been

01:48 sensational in the last few games and both teams, we've got two teams here who've been managing to

01:52 hold on to clean sheets for quite a while now. So we've really got some high level football to be

01:58 coming in this first semi final today and expect from, of course, South Africa, who've been really

02:04 impressive on that defensive side, especially from their goalkeeper, Ronwell Williams, who was

02:09 really, really remarkable in that penalty shootout against Cape Verde, saving four penalties in that

02:14 to get them through to this semi final. It was, of course, the talk of the town at that point. He'll

02:18 be hoping to be it today, whether he's going to have to make use of those incredible, incredible

02:23 saves that he managed to do last time around against Nigeria's front trio. Well, there's a

02:28 fair chance that he will be considering how fast Nigeria are on the ball when they manage to get

02:32 it. That's going to be one of the dangerous points for South Africa. They're going to have to watch

02:37 out when they do when Nigeria get the ball down the field. They bring it up really fast. They

02:41 increase the pace and take control of the game. And that's when they often manage to get that one

02:46 or two goal win. And that's all they managed. All they needed to do so far is just manage to secure

02:51 that one or two goal. And it's been the recipe for success to them. But expect a very entertaining

02:56 game. Two very, very strong sides coming face to face, even though Nigeria, of course, coming into

03:02 this tournament and coming into this fixture are somewhat the favorites. But South Africa,

03:06 incredible to see. And it's going to be a great battle. OK, so that's Nigeria, South Africa up

03:11 first. And then a couple of hours later, James in Abidjan, where you are. In fact, I think we

03:16 can just see the stadium behind you. Ivory Coast, the host nation, will be taking on Congo. Forgive

03:26 me, Democratic Republic of Congo. And they've just managed to stay in this, haven't they? Ivory

03:32 Coast. It looked like a few times they were going to get eliminated. So give us a sense of what we

03:36 might expect from them tonight. They have not. It's a bit of a tricky one to be able to have to

03:43 tell you because, yes, the stadium here is where we've seen the last few games go ahead. We're

03:46 actually going to be traveling a little bit north to Ipimbe, the the Olympic Stadium, where that

03:51 clash is going to be going. So the host nation, yes, very enthusiastic, hoping that their miraculous

03:56 comeback can continue. Of course, they managed to beat the defending champions the last time around.

03:59 They've managed to come out so much from so far behind compared to what they've done in the group

04:04 stage. And that is what everybody here is hoping that they can do again. They're taking on DR Congo,

04:09 who are very motivated because they will be wanting to break that glass ceiling, which is reaching

04:14 a final for the first time since 1974. That's the last time DR Congo managed to reach the finals,

04:20 the last time that they won the Africa Cup of Nations. The host country have been there much

04:24 more recently, but they have a number of players who won't be available to them because of their

04:28 last clash that saw a number of bookings being dished out. But again, the hope is very high.

04:32 We'll give you all the information just before kickoff for that second semifinal, which will be

04:37 8pm local time here, 9pm Paris time for the host nation Ivory Coast versus DR Congo.

04:43 All right. Enjoy the match. Thanks very much indeed, James Messina,

04:46 our sports reporter for us there in Abidjan.

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