Nigeria has Victor Osimhen, South Africa is a club team, DR Congo is developing impressive physical power, and Ivory Coast, the host country, has forged a mental steel.
Profile of the four semi-finalists of an African Cup returned to the classic after the surprises of the first two rounds: the members of the last four who face each other on Wednesday (Nigeria-South Africa and Ivory Coast-DRC) are all former winners.
Nigeria: Carried by its leader Osimhen
The “Super Eagles” have the typical profile of a team driven by an exceptional player with a destiny, like Diego Maradona at the 1986 World Cup or Ronaldo in 2002.
“I won with Napoli, I wrote history, but no matter what I accomplish, no matter how many goals I score, if I win the CAN I will have come a long way in my life, and when I have done that, I will have achieved everything,” the scorer told AFP at the start of the tournament.
The man in the plastic mask is totally devoted to his team, he makes others score, like Ademola Lookman (3 goals), fiercely provides the first defensive curtain and galvanizes his teammates.
With him and a very stable defense which only conceded one goal in the competition, the Nigerians, in the semi-final for the 16th time in 20 participations in the CAN, are favorites to win a fourth star after 1980, 1994 and 2013.
. South Africa: The cohesion of the Mamelodi
With eight starters playing in the same club, the Mamelodi Sundowns, one of the best teams in Africa, the “Bafana-Bafana” (the Boys) rely on rare and valuable collective habits in selection.
Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi goalkeeper Ronwen Williams hero of the penalty shootout against Cape Verde in Yamoussoukro, January 3, 2024 / FRANCK FIFE / AFP
The defensive quintet is entirely that of the “Brazilians” (the tunic of the team from a township in Pretoria copies that of the “Seleçao”: yellow, green and blue): Khuliso Mudau, Grant Gomolemo Kekana, Mothobi Mvala, Aubrey Modiba in front of their guardian.
Ronwen Williams showed against Cape Verde in the quarter-finals (0-0, 2 tab to 1) that he was one of the best goalkeepers on the continent, with four shots on goal saved, and saves in the match including an exceptional one in additional time.
But the eleven of Belgian coach Hugo Broos, already crowned with Cameroon in 2017, has not changed much since the start of the tournament, and fatigue could catch up with South Africa in its quest for a second star after 1996.
. DR Congo: Physical power
The number one asset of the “Leopards” remains physical strength, particularly in its defense, qualities personified by Chancel Mbemba, who is also the mental leader of this team.
The group match against Morocco (1-1) illustrated this perfectly: in the heat of the afternoon (kick-off was at 2:00 p.m. local time), DR Congo still had plenty of energy in the last half hour when the “Lions of the Atlas” stuck out their tongues.
Captain Chancel Mbemba surrounded by his teammates after giving DR Congo the equalizer against Guinea in Ebimpé, February 2, 2024 / SIA KAMBOU / AFP/Archives
The words of their coach Sébastien Desabre, whose project to rebuild a team is progressing faster than expected, also express this philosophy well. “The CAN of surprises? I would rather say the CAN of work”, he said, also evoking “the determination of our valiant soldiers (…) difficult to play”.
After four draws, his team finally won in regulation time against Guinea (3-1) in the quarter-finals and dreams of restoring the image of a country which has not lifted the trophy for 50 years, in 1968 (under the name of Congo-Kinshasa) and 1974 (Zaire).
. Ivory Coast: A faith that would overturn mountains
The football legend has already told this kind of story, a team which came close to disaster in the first round and ended up winning the tournament: Italy at the 1982 World Cup, Portugal at Euro-2016…
The Ivorians have just qualified for the CAN semi-finals following the match against Mali in Bouaké on February 3, 2024 / Issouf SANOGO / AFP
Last drafted after a memorable correction received against Equatorial Guinea (4-0), the Ivorians have since been carried by the faith of the “resurrected”, a word repeated by their very recent coach Emerse Faé.
Since the ex-deputy took over from Jean-Louis Gasset, his team has gone through two rounds where it was very poorly off to a good start.
She took out the Senegalese title holder on penalties (1-1, 5 tab to 4), equalizing in the last minutes, and above all she overthrew Mali in the quarters and numerically inferior (2-1 after) who dominated, each time with goals at the very end, the 90th minute then the last of extra time.
This incredible finish allows an entire country to dream of a third star, after 1992 and 2015, when he was agonizing over his team with insults after the 4-0 suffered against the Equatoguineans.
