Nigeria are ranked 42nd in the world, 24 places above South Africa, but Bafana Bafana pulled off one of the shocks of the knock-out stages when Hugo Broos’ side beat Morocco 2-0 in the last 16.
“Their performance, against Morocco, was one of the best I have seen from Bafana in a very long time,” Mark Fish, a key part of the 1996 Afcon-winning squad, told BBC Sport Africa.
“The technical team and players have an understanding of what they need to do on the field and they are doing it remarkably well.
“The atmosphere is very encouraging and positive. It is similar to what I experienced when I was playing.”
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Nigeria hold a better head-to-head record, with seven wins and five draws against South Africa, and the semi-final in Bouake will be the 15th meeting across all competitions between the two rivals.
Former Orlando Pirates, Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic defender Fish is keen for Bafana Bafana to forget history and play with “a positive attitude”.
“Nigeria is our nemesis in the sense that they have had more success over us than we have had over them,” the 49-year-old added.
“We know Nigeria are physically very strong and have very talented players. But South Africa should take the same mentality that they have had in every game in the knock-out stages.”
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