Nigeria, who have won the African Nations Championship three times, had a scare but reached the final after beating South Africa 4-2 on penalties.

The game, which was hotly contested with a packed stadium, ended in a 1-1 draw with Africa's two biggest economic powerhouses squandering great chances and was only decided by penalties.

Nigeria had lost five of the six semi-finals they were involved in and took advantage of their good fortune to secure a place in Sunday's decider against hosts Ivory Coast, who beat the Democratic Republic of Congo by one goal to nil.

It should be noted that the two teams had already met in the group stage of this tournament, with Nigeria coming out on top with a one-nil victory over the hosts.