2019 Africa Cup of Nations: Nigeria 2-1 South Africa - 4 Talking Points from the game

#1 South Africa failed to come to the party

South Africa disappointed

South Africa started their 2019 Nations Cup somewhat poorly by their standards, losing two of their opening three group stage matches and only made it to the round-of-16 as one of the best losers.

However, they gave a much-improved performance in the next round against Egypt, showing great class and finesse to eliminate The Pharaohs in front of their fans.

On the strength of their display against Egypt, it was expected that they would continue in that form against Nigeria, but that proved not to be the case, as despite controlling much of the possession, they failed to make many inroads, with their play limited to just harmless sideways passing.

They failed to truly test Daniel Akpeyi in the Nigerian goal, having just two shots on target for the entirety of the match while big hitters like Percy Tau and Lebo Mothiba conspicuously failed to make an impact.