Due to international obligations, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team will be without three players for Saturday’s Nottingham Forest vs. Newcastle United match.
Due to their participation in the African Cup of Nations final, Willy Boly, Ibrahim Sangare, and Ola Aina will be absent for Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Aina will compete against Boly and Sangare, who will represent host nation Cote D’Ivoire, wearing the Nigerian flag.
Sebastien Haller, a former West Ham striker, gave the home team a 1-0 victory against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the semifinal to guarantee their spot in the Saturday final. On the other hand, Nigeria decisively defeated South Africa.
Victor Osimhen’s goal in the dying minutes of the game gave the Super Eagles hope that they would win 2-0, but VAR disallowed it, ruling that there had been a foul in the Nigerian penalty area prior to the quick counterattack that resulted in Osimhen’s goal. As a result, South Africa was given a penalty kick, which they duly converted to force extra time.
After 30 minutes without a goal, both teams had to contend with the terrifying penalty shootout. Nigeria would go on to win 4-2; Aina’s failed penalty attempt was their lone let-down. On Sunday, February 11 at 8 p.m. (GMT), the AFCON final will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
Yankuba Minteh, who was selected to represent the Gambia, was the only player from Newcastle United to compete in the tournament. After his country lost all three of its group matches, Minteh’s tournament came to an end at the group stage. Chris Hughton, the former manager of the Magpies, led Ghana throughout the tournament but stepped down when the team was unable to advance past the group round.