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Algeria and Nigeria battled it out for a spot in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, with the Desert Foxes running out 2-1 winners at the Cairo International Stadium.
In what was the second North vs West African semifinal, the North African side progressed at the expense of the West African giants, making up for the ouster of their neighbors Tunisia at hands of another West African side.
Algeria would now face Senegal in the final on July 19 and in this piece, we shall be presenting four talking points from the entertaining game.
#4 VAR comes into play
Ever since the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in 2016, the technological initiative has had its fair share of detractors, with some in support, while others are against its use.
Having gone mainstream at the last World Cup in Russia, VAR has been implemented across different leagues, with the Premier League set to kickstart its use next season.
CAF decided to use VAR at the 2019 Nations Cup, but only from the quarterfinals onwards and it came into play in the first fixture of the round, canceling two of Senegal's goals in their quarterfinal tie with Benin.
In the game between Nigeria and South Africa, it was also used to belatedly award a goal to the Bafana Bafana after it had erroneously been ruled out for offside.
Having been on the receiving end of VAR, Nigeria benefited from it in the game against Algeria, as despite being initially being waved away, referee Bakary Papa Gassama awarded a penalty to the Super Eagles after reviewing that the ball had indeed touched the arm of Aissa Mandi in the penalty box.
The resultant spot-kick was buried by Odion Ighalo and even though the effort ultimately proved futile, it was another positive indicator for the use of VAR.
#3 Algeria finally have their date with destiny
It is well established that Algeria are one of the top sides in African football, but rather surprisingly, the North Africans have won the Nations Cup just once.
They have been blessed with some of the most gifted players from the continent in the last decade, but rather frustratingly, they have not been able to pull their weight when it matters most.
However, they have been one of the most impressive sides at this tournament, as coach Djamel Belmadi has drilled them into a very compact team, difficult to break down and very technical on the ball.
Their victory over Nigeria means they are through to the final of the Nations Cup, which is incidentally their first appearance at the showpiece event in 29 years.
Having seen their national team falter for so long, Algerians can revel in the fact that they are just 90 minutes away from glory and this is no less than a talented group of players deserve.
#2 William Troost-Ekong goes from hero to zero
William Troost-Ekong has been a loyal servant to Nigeria for the last four years. The 25-year-old Dutch-Nigerian made his debut for the Super Eagles on June 2015 and was also a regular in the Olympics squad which won the bronze medal at Rio in 2016.
Over the next two years, he formed a defensive partnership with Leon Balogun affectionately termed the 'Oyibo wall' by his compatriots.
The latter's struggles at club level saw the wall broken, as Kenneth Omeruo became Ekong's new defensive partner, but the Udinese man did not let that deter him as he continued to perform at an optimum for his country.
In the match against South Africa with the scores tied at one apiece and seemingly heading for extra time, Ekong was on hand to tap home an Oghenekaro Etebo corner kick to send Nigeria through to the semifinal.
In the game against Algeria, he was, however, the culprit of an unfortunate own goal, after deflecting into the back of his net off a Riyad Mahrez cross although to be fair to him, there was not much he could have done about it.
#1 Riyad Mahrez finally shows his class
Prior to the start of this tournament, Riyad Mahrez was profiled as one of the players to watch and if his country was to stand a chance of going all the way, then Mahrez would have a large role to play in it.
However, heading into the semifinal, the Algerian skipper had yet to truly show his class, which must have been worrying to his coach and teammates.
On his day, the 28-year-old is among the best players in the world capable of unlocking any defense on the planet and was voted as the 2016 PFA and CAF Player of the Year, hence there was always the possibility of him stepping to the plate at any time.
As it happened, the match against Nigeria proved to be when he struck, as Africa's most expensive player in history took the game on its head and had a huge hand in Algeria's progression to the final.
It was his wicked cross after some delightful footwork on the right that was deflected into the net by Troost-Ekong, while he also buried home the match-winner from a free-kick with virtually the last kick of the game.
Having taken so long to show his class, it turned out to be a case of better late than never for Mahrez and his country would be hoping he can once more come to the party against Senegal.
