Stanley Nwabali: Super Eagles goalkeeper recounts why Nigeria defeated South Africa at AFCON 2023

Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has claimed that Bafana Bafana players were scared to take penalties against him at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

Eventual runners-up, Nigeria, defeated South Africa in a mouth-watering semi-final clash inside the Stade de la Paix in Bouake.

Nwabali saved spot-kicks from Teboho Mokoena and Evidence Makgopa to propel the three-time champions to the final match of the tournament.

Heading into the fixture, many had expected Ronwen Williams to repeat his quarter-final heroics when he saved four spot kicks against Cape Verde.

However, Nwabali said he was confident Nigeria would triumph should the encounter proceed to penalties. The Chippa United shot-stopper also added that Bafana Bafana players were scared.

He told FARPost:

"You must give me the man of the match because I will save a lot. A lot of Bafana Bafana guys didn’t know me. But maybe they might have seen in the video analysis or asked questions back in South Africa.

“If you look at the eyes of the Bafana Bafana players, they looked scared. If you watched the game and you look at their eyes when taking a penalty against me, they looked scared.

“So, when you’re not confident enough to stand, I know you’re going to fumble in the penalty. I was not surprised by Mokoena’s miss, and I was not surprised by Makgopa’s miss."