The Super Eagles of Nigeria will on Monday night fly to Bouake ahead of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final clash with South Africa on Wednesday.

The team and officials will leave Abidjan for Bouake for the first time since their opening match.

Babafemi Raji, the team’s media officer, told journalists that the Super Eagles will depart by 8:30 p.m. on Monday.

“I can confirm to you that the boys are in high spirits, and we are set to leave for Bouake by 8:30 p.m. today (Monday), ahead of the semi-final clash with South Africa on Wednesday,” he said.

The team played all its group matches, Round of 16 and quarter-final matches in Abidjan, and this is the first time they will be leaving their “adopted home”.

In continuation of preparation for the epic clash, the team on Sunday trained at their usual Ecole Nationale de la Police playing turf, Abidjan.

Raji said Jose Peseiro, the team’s gaffer, in the company of a player, will have the official pre-match news conference on Tuesday by 11:00 a.m. (Nigerian time) in Bouake.

The team will subsequently have their first training session behind closed doors.

When Cote d’Ivoire hosted their only previous AFCON in 1984, Nigeria also played their semi-final match in the city of Bouake against Egypt, winning 8-7 on penalties after a pulsating 2-2 draw.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will on Wednesday lock horns with perennial rivals Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Stade de la Paix, Bouake.

The match will be a repeat of the 2000 AFCON semi-finals in Lagos, which saw Nigeria defeat South Africa 2-0.

Also, in the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, Nigeria again showed superiority by eliminating the Bafana Bafana 2-1 in the quarter-final stage. 

(NAN)