AFCON 2023: Ronwen Williams Gives Warning to Nigeria Ahead of Semi Final Clash

• South Africa has a poor record when facing Nigeria at the AFCON
• Bafana Bafana will go head-to-head with the Super Eagles again
• South Africa are chasing their first AFCON title since the 1996 win

South Africa are rated as the underdogs ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash against Nigeria due to their poor record against the Super Eagles in previous tournaments.

This will be the fourth encounter between Nigeria and South Africa at the AFCON, with the Super Eagles winning the previous three by an aggregate score of 8-1 against Bafana Bafana.

According to the Daily Post, South Africa captain and goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams has now warned the Super Eagles not to feel overconfident, as statistics do not win football matches.

"Stats don’t play the game. You know many statistics that were against us in this tournament and we proved that stats don’t play the game.

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"So, what has happened in the past, we can’t change that, but what we can change is tomorrow’s result, tomorrow’s performance. So we don’t look at that because that can’t change now."

Nigeria and South Africa are set to lock horns tonight, February 7, as they slug it out for a place in the final of the 2023 edition of the AFCON.

Nigeria versus South Africa facts

Meanwhile, Nigeria and South Africa will be meeting for the second time in the semi-final at the Africa Cup of Nations as both teams get set to battle it out at the Stade de la Paix in Boauke.

According to CAF Online, the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana last met in the AFCON semi-finals in 2000, with Nigeria running out 2-0 winners thanks to a brace from Tijani Babangida.

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Nigeria is playing in a record 15th AFCON semi-final but only progressed from one of their last six at this stage, while South Africa is in its first semi since losing to the Super Eagles in 2000.

South Africa ready to upset Nigeria

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Hugo Broos’ experience and the unity of the South Africa squad are two factors they can use to eliminate Nigeria from AFCON 2023.

The Belgian coach is hoping to join Herve Renard as the only coach to win the AFCON title with two different nations after guiding Cameroon to the title back in 2019.

Ahead of the semi-final, Broos can comfortably rely on the bulk of the Mamelodi Sundowns players in his squad, who have shown their worth so far in the tournament.