Tobias Sylvester
William Troost-Ekong scored a dramatic late winner to send Nigeria into the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final at the expense of South Africa.
Samuel Chukwueze hit the opener as he controlled Alex Iwobi’s cross, before scoring at the second attempt.
Bongani Zungu equalized with a header initially ruled out for offside before VAR replays showed a free-kick hit a Nigerian player on the way to him.
But Udinese’s Troost-Ekong bundled home from close range late on to win it.
His finish was into an empty net after goalkeeper Ronwen Williams totally missed Moses Simon’s corner.
The Super Eagles were deserved winners and led through Villarreal youngster Chukwueze’s first goal for his country. They should have been ahead by more when Williams pushed Peter Etebo’s free-kick onto the bar.
Zungu’s goal was the first in the Africa Cup of Nations given by the VAR, which has just been introduced for the quarter-finals. It looked offside initially but Percy Tau’s free-kick hit Nigeria’s Odion Ighalo on the way on to Amiens midfielder Zungu’s head.
The game looked set for extra time before Williams flapped at a cross to leave Troost-Ekong with a simple finish.
Nigeria will now face Ivory Coast or Algeria in Sunday’s second semi-final (20:00 BST).
Watch the match highlights below:
