Former Rangers pair Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo are celebrating reaching the AFCON Final with Nigeria after an enthralling win over South Africa.
Both players were involved in an entertaining semi-final encounter, which Nigeria eventually won on penalty kicks.
William Troost-Ekong had given Nigeria the lead from the penalty spot in the 67th minute, before Teboho Mokoena repeated the feat for South Africa in the 90th minute.
The Bafana Bafana were reduced to 10-men in extra-time when Grant Kekana was sent packing but the Super Eagles wound up victorious on a glorious night in the Ivory Coast.
Calvin Bassey & Joe Aribo reach AFCON Final with Nigeria
Calvin Bassey – who now turns out for Fulham in the Premier League – played the entire game for Nigeria as they reached their first final since 2013, when they lifted the AFCON trophy in South Africa.
Joe Aribo, who is still with Southampton south of the border, came off the bench in extra time but neither player took a spot kick for the county on a famous night for the nation.
Both ex-Rangers players will now hope to be involved in the AFCON Final this Sunday, which will be played against tournament hosts Ivory Coast.
The Ivorians reached the final courtesy of a 1-0 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sebastian Haller scoring what proved to the winner.
Rangers duo left big impression at Ibrox
Rangers of course have had a link to Nigerian football in recent seasons with Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo making their Super Eagles debuts whilst at Ibrox.
Gers veteran Leon Balogun is also a Nigerian international, although he was not included in the nation’s squad for this years AFCON.
Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo remain very highly thought of in Glasgow and banked Rangers a fortune with their respective £23m and £10m moves to Ajax and Southampton.
Now, Ibrox fans everywhere will be cheering the pair on as they prepare to try and make history in the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé in Abidjan this weekend.
That said, there will be one player in the Ibrox camp rooting for the other team.
