Nigeria vs South Africa: Nwabali, Ronwen duel in spotlight for AFCON blockbuster

The Africa Cup of Nations semifinal clash between Nigeria and South Africa could be decided by the battle between Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali and his South African counterpart Ronwen Williams. 

Both men have been instrumental for their respective countries in the AFCON 2023 so far, leading Nigeria and Bafana Bafana to the last four.

With a final place a stake, the spotlight will be on both goalkeepers to produce another big performance between the sticks after their heroics in the quarterfinals.

Nwabali and Williams kept clean sheets as Nigeria and South Africa defeated Angola and Cape Verde in the last eight. 

Both men have kept now four clean sheets each in the tournament in Ivory Coast, en route to making history for their nations.

Chippa United shut-stopper, Nwabali, became the first Nigerian goalkeeper to clean four consecutive clean sheets at AFCON, breaking a 44-year-old record set by Super Eagles legend Best Ogedegbe. 

24 hours after the Nigerian achieved the feat, his PSL colleague, Ronwen, produced a sensational display, stopping four penalties to become the first goalkeeper to save four spot kicks in a single shootout in AFCON history per CAF. 

Their duel could prove pivotal as the two in-form keepers aim to help their countries continue their journey in what promises to be an enthralling AFCON showdown.