Irrespective of the result of Wednesday’s 34th Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa, Nigeria will extend her record of being the country with the most last-four appearances at the continental fiesta.
Since making her debut at the 1963 finals held in Ghana, where she was ejected in the group phase after 3-6 and 0-4 losses to United Arab Republic (Egypt) and Sudan respectively, Nigeria has been at the last-four of the tournament 15 times, and has never failed to win a medal each time.
The Eagles have gone ahead to win the trophy and gold on three occasions, won silver on four occasions and won the bronze medals eight times. They have never lost a third-place match.
On Wednesday, the three-time champions will make a 16th appearance in the semi-finals, in what is their 20th appearance at the competition. The only times Nigeria failed to make the semi-finals were in 1963, 1982, 2008 and 2021.
1982: As Cup holders, the Eagles led by Felix Owolabi started brightly by beating Ethiopia 3-0 in Benghazi, and led Algeria 1-0 in their second match before capitulating 2-1 to the Fennecs. They were manhandled 3-0 by Zambia in their third match and crashed out.
2008: The squad led by Joseph Yobo lost 0-1 to Cote d’Ivoire in their first match in Sekondi, but drew 0-0 with Mali and then defeated Benin Republic 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals. They led Ghana 1-0 before goals by Michael Essien and Junior Agogo toppled the advantage and sent the Eagles back home.
2021: Named the best team of the group phase, the Eagles led by Ahmed Musa defeated Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau in the group phase in Garoua to earn maximum points, only to lose 0-1 to Tunisia in the Round of 16.
Below is a cursory look at all the 15 previous AFCON semi-final matches that Nigeria have been involved in:
11 March 1976: The 1976 finals in Ethiopia were played on league basis – the only tournament in the competition’s history conducted in that format. There was a final round of the competition involving Nigeria, Guinea, Morocco and Egypt. After a 1-1 draw with Guinea, what could be considered as Nigeria’s own semi-final match was against eventual champions Morocco on 11th March 1976. The ever-prolific Baba Otu Mohammed scored for Nigeria in the 57th minute, but the Green Eagles allowed two late goals by Ahmad Faras (elected Africa Player of the Year that year) and Redouane Guezzar. After beating Egypt 3-2 three days later, with goals from Haruna Ilerika (a brace) and Mudashiru Lawal, Nigeria (3 points) finished third in the final classification behind Morocco (5 points) and Guinea (4 points) and were awarded the bronze medals.
14 March 1978: Ahmed Abdulla Nasur put Uganda ahead at the Kumasi Sports Stadium, and Martins Eyo equalized for Nigeria in the 12 minutes into the second half. But Philip Omondi scored for Uganda late on and Nigeria were condemned to the third-place match, where they were awarded a 2-0 win after Tunisia abandoned the game in the 42nd minute in protest at Nigeria’s equalizer by Baba Otu Mohammed.
19 March 1980: Felix Owolabi scored the only goal against Morocco after only nine minutes at the National Stadium, Lagos. Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami, Adokiye Amiesimaka and Ifeanyi Onyedika all tried to add to the tally to no avail. The hosts went ahead to win the trophy after beating Algeria 3-0 in the final three days later at the same venue.
14 March 1984: In what was easily the match of the tournament, Egypt Pharaohs, beaten 1-0 by Nigeria four years earlier in a group phase match in Ibadan, raced to a two-goal lead within the half-hour. The Eagles had experienced something similar in their group phase match against Malawi, before Clement Temile restored parity. In Bouake, Stephen Keshi reduced the tally from the penalty spot, following up after the ball crashed against the bar. The captain’s inch-perfect cross in the
