Nottingham Forest progressed from their Europa League quarter-final with a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto to book a last-four meeting with Aston Villa.
Super Eagles trio Ola Aina, Terem Moffi and Zaidu Sanusi were in action in the encounter.
While Aina played for 90 minutes for Forest, Moffi and Sanusi were replaced for Porto in the second half.
After battling to a difficult 1-1 first-leg draw in Portugal, Forest were far more assured on home turf, buoyed by an early Jan Bednarek dismissal for a reckless challenge on Chris Wood that led to the striker hobbling off with yet another knee injury, Sky Sports reports.
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Porto, down to 10, were unable to match Forest’s intensity as Morgan Gibbs-White capitalised on the player advantage shortly after by striking via a deflection off Pablo Rosario.
He celebrated by dedicating the goal to missing midfielder Elliot Anderson, granted compassionate leave following the death of his mother.
Vitor Pereira had promised his side were out to show intent and ambition in a competition they had failed to appear in for nearly 30 years before this season.
Now they must negotiate their toughest obstacle yet: Unai Emery’s Villa. Their Premier League counterparts hammered Italian club Bologna 7-1 over two legs.
