Two spots are left for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinals. Mali will contest with host nation Ivory Coast in the early fixtures; and later, Cape Verde will take on South Africa.

Saturday | February 3, 2024

The battle for the semi-finals berth in the AFCON 2023 draws near to see which countries will fight Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who qualified on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

Tonight at 22h00, South Africa (SA) square up against Cape Verde at Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro.

Bafana Bafana (SA) emerged victorious from one of the toughest encounters in the last 16. They conquered Morocco by 2-0 last Tuesday and hope to carry that form into tonight’s draw.

Talking at a pre-match media conference, theSA head coach Hugo Broos struck a cautious tone in the wake of the Cape Verde side. He hinted that the game will be difficult and the opponents must be approached with respect partly because of a tough group they emerged atop.

Pedro Brito, Cape Verde coach, said the team is in good shape after some good rest. His comments follow their slender 1-0 triumph over Mauritania in their quarter-final clash on Monday, five days ago. The Blue Sharks will do their best to bring more joy to the country, he stressed.

The duo have met four times since 2017. In these encounters, Cape Verde won two, lost one and drew one. If history is any reference, the Blue Sharks have an upper hand.

Waiting for the victor between SA and Cape Verde are Nigeria who eliminated Angola by an ought goal yesterday. The semifinal match is scheduled for Wednesday,  Feb. 7, 2024.

Ivory Coast lock horns with Mali 

Playing away in front of a vociferous fans, Mali will brave the host nation Ivory Coast at Stade Bouaké in Bouaké tonight at 19h00.

Ivory Coast are expected to dominate the match owing to their home crowd in their own backyard. Besides, they should be over inspired after dumping out AFCON 2023 favourites Senegal in the last 16 face-off (last) Monday.

Be that as it may, Mali booted out a formidable Burkina Faso team by 2-1 on Tuesday to reach this stage.

Therefore, the supporters of the beautiful game can anticipate mouthwatering gamenin prospects when the Elephants (Ivory Coast) battle it out with the Malians.

The winner between Mali and Ivory Coast will play Democratic Republic of Congo the semifinal on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2024.

DRC knocked Guinea out of the AFCON 2023 by a convincing 3-1 scoreline last night.