I never thought I would score in AFCON finals - Nigeria's Chuwueze

Samuel Chukwueze of Nigeria celebrates goal during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Finals, quarterfinals match between Nigeria and South Africa at Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt on 10 July 2019 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

by Austin Ditlhobolo

Saturday Jul 13, 2019. 10:00

Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze says he never thought he would score in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.

This comes after the Villarreal CF winger scored as Nigeria defeated South Africa 2-1 in a quarter-final clash in Egypt on Wednesday night.

It was Chukwueze's first goal in Africa's biggest football tournament.

The left-footed attacker reflected on his performance against the 1996 AFCON champions.

''This is my first major international goal for my country, it's not easy to score against South Africa in this big stage," Chukwueze said.

''In every competition, you need to keep your head down, it's very hard to score this kind of goal.

''I was very, very happy. I couldn't imagine Samuel Chukwueze scoring this kind of goal in this major competition, it was an amazing thing."

The Super Eagles will now take on Algeria in a semi-final match on Sunday.