Former South Africa captain Teko Modise believes Nigeria and Morocco are set for a tough semifinal showdown, adding that whoever emerges victorious could be well placed to lift the trophy in the final, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles and the Atlas Lions will face-off at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Wednesday night, in a heavyweight semifinal clash at the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament.
Nigeria, three-time champions of the competition qualified for the last four in very dominant fashion after eliminating Algeria in the quarterfinals.
The Super Eagles sealed a 2-0 win courtesy of strikes from Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams in a one-sided affair to progress to the semifinal once again.
They previously reached the final two years ago in Ivory Coast and will be hoping to go one better this time around.
Morocco, meanwhile are the host nations and qualified for their first semifinals in 24 years after defeating Cameroon in their own quarterfinal encounter.
The host nations are hoping to break their long drought as they challenge for a first AFCON trophy since 1976.
The winner of the tie then advances to the final to face either Senegal or Egypt in the final, with the latter defeating the defending champions in the last eight.
Modise speaks ahead of Nigeria’s semifinal clash against Morocco
Teko Modise, who represented South Africa at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hailed Nigeria’s recent improvement, but expects a very difficult contest between both teams in their semifinal clash.
“It’s a cracker. It’s a game that one, if you are watching it at home, you need to buy popcorns and really, really enjoy it”, Modise stated.
“I am expecting a highly tactical game where either one wins, I strongly see them winning the tournament because they are very exciting from an attacking perspective.
“Defensively, Nigeria is growing within the tournament itself. They are starting to be more defensive, they are starting to be more organised. It’s going to be exciting to see if Nigeria can withstand the 12th man”, he concluded.
