The Super Eagles will face South Africa in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké.
On paper, Nigeria has far better players, but given the past rivalry between the two countries, this duel is expected to be interesting.
At the start of the game, neither team had ever played in Bouake. So they had to get used to playing on new grass.
Ahead of the semi-finals, Soccernet.ng shares some interesting facts about the Stade de la Paix.
Stade de la Paix is the second-biggest in Ivory Coast
Stade de la Paix is the second largest stadium in Ivory Coast after Alassane Ouattara Stadium. This stadium can accommodate 40,000 spectators and is the home of Ivorian club FC Bouake. It is also a multipurpose stadium and has also hosted several athletics events.
Stade de la Paix has witnessed eight games in this AFCON
This year’s AFCON saw eight matches held at the Stade de la Paix, with an average attendance of 29,767 fans per match, and Bouaké enjoyed many of the matches. Therefore, super he should expect many fans to gather in the stadium for Eagles games.
In the same stadium, the stadium was filled with excitement as the nine-a-side Ivory Coast defeated Mali 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Algeria also lost to Mauritania in the group stage and were eliminated from his 2023 AFCON.
Nigeria has never lost in Bouake
Nigeria have played three official matches at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake and have never lost. They played in all three group games at the 1984 AFCON in Bouake. In this tournament, they played against Algeria, Ghana, and Malawi and achieved a record of one win and two draws.
