The semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is on the horizon after a dramatic set of last eight fixtures, which featured more late goals, penalty shootouts and goalkeeping heroics.
In a tournament which has seen a number of fancied sides fall by the wayside, the four teams who now remain are all former champions.
Hosts Ivory Coast, who only just made the knock-out phase, produced a thrilling quarter-final win over Mali to keep their hopes of lifting the trophy on home soil alive.
South Africa’s captain Ronwen Williams was Bafana Bafana’s hero, saving four penalties in a tense shootout against one of this competition’s surprise packages, Cape Verde.
Elsewhere, Nigeria continued to grow into the tournament with a solid win over Angola and DR Congo came from behind to book their place in the last four with a win over Guinea.
What are the semi-final ties?
Nigeria face South Africa in the first last-four tie in Bouake (Friday, 17:00 GMT) with Bafana Bafana boss Hugo Broos saying his team have “nothing to lose” when they take on the Super Eagles.
Nigeria, who will be favourites to reach the final, are looking to win the Nations Cup for a fourth time, having last lifted the trophy in 2013.
The second semi-final pits hosts Ivory Coast against DR Congo in what is expected to be a fervent atmosphere at the Alassane Ouattara stadium in Abidjan (Friday, 20:00 GMT).
DR Congo produced their best performance of the tournament when it mattered most, showing resilience to come from 1-0 down to beat Guinea 3-1 in the last eight.
The Leopards will have to get past an inspired Ivory Coast team who were in danger of leaving their own party early after a woeful group-phase performance.
The host nation sacked manager Jean-Louis Gasset when it looked like they would not qualify for the knockout stages, and interim coach Emerse Fae has since masterminded the Elephants’ wins over holders Senegal and Mali.
Africa Cup of Nations 2023 quarterfinal fixtures and results
QF1: Nigeria 1-0 Angola, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
QF2: DR Congo 3-1 Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Saturday 3 February
QF3: Mali 1-2 Ivory Coast aet, Bouake
QF4: Cape Verde 0-0 South Africa aet (1-2 pens), Yamoussoukro
Semi-finals: Wednesday 7 February
SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4, Bouake (17:00, live on BBC Two)
SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)
Third place play-off
Saturday 10 February
SF1 vs SF2 losers, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)
Final
Sunday 11 February
SF1 vs SF2 winners, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (20:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2023 top scorers
5 GOALS: Emilio Nsue (Equatorial Guinea)
4 GOALS: Gelson Dala (Angola), Mostafa Mohamed (Egypt)
3 GOALS: Lookman (Nigeria), Mabululu (Angola), Lassine Sinayoko (Mali), Mohamed Bayo (Guinea), Baghdad Bounedjah (Algeria), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)
Twelve years on from the end of a civil war that split the country in two, Ivory Coast welcomed Africa’s best footballers for the first time since 1984.
Six stadiums are being used in five host cities, with two in Abidjan.
Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 60,000)
Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan (capacity 33,000)
Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro (capacity 20,000)
Stade de la Paix, Bouake (capacity 40,000)
Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo (capacity 20,000)
Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro (capacity 20,000)
All of the stadiums are either new or had undergone renovations ahead of Afcon, with the government spending one billion US dollars on infrastructure around the country.
Originally scheduled to be held in June-July 2023, the tournament was moved to avoid a clash with the West African rainy season.
