Four nations — Nigeria, DR Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, and South Africa — have qualified as semi-finalists for the penultimate round of the 34th edition of the preeminent sporting event on the African continent: TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023. Who will win it?

Nigeria

Currently, the most seasoned squad is the Super Eagles. Nigeria is playing in their 16th TotalEnergies CAF AFCON semi-final, and they have one goal: to get to the final. Nigeria encountered obstacles during the tournament, notably a draw against Equatorial Guinea, despite entering as potential winners. The attention was on their offensive abilities, but they only let in one goal, thanks to a tenacious defence.

Fact: José Peseiro’s side is the only one to go to the semifinals without needing to use extra time.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The long-awaited triumph of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 2023 CAF TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast finally came to fruition. In their quarterfinal match against Guinea, the Leopards showed incredible strength by returning from an early Syli National goal to win 3-1. With this win, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has advanced to the Cup of Nations semi-finals for the sixth time in history.

Fact: In the 1968 and 1974 CAN championships, the Democratic Republic of the Congo advanced past the host nation in the semifinals. They prevailed against Ethiopia in 1968 by a score of 2-3 in overtime, while they lost to Egypt in 1974 by the same result.

Ivory Coast

On January 22, 2024, the elephants were in the news worldwide. They recovered from a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea and beat Senegal, the defending African champions. Oumar Diakité scored the game-winning goal in the 94th minute to send his team to the semifinals in a thrilling match against Mali. This will replay the 2015 semifinal, which the Elephants won 3-1 in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, as Côte d’Ivoire takes on DR Congo in their ninth semifinal appearance.

Fact: Côte d’Ivoire’s victory in the 1992 Cup of Nations quarter-finals was their first after a match that went into extra time.

South Africa

Bafana Bafana is back at the top after missing the Cup of Nations semi-finals for twenty-four years. The South Africans stunned everyone by dispatching World Cup semi-finalists Morocco and adding undefeated Cape Verde. In the semifinals, they take against well-known opponents as part of their ongoing adventure.

Fact: South Africa lost to Nigeria 2-0 in their most recent semifinal match in 2000.