Riyad Mahrez's late free-kick guided Algeria to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-1 win over Nigeria on Sunday evening.
Nigeria remained unchanged from the quarter-final win over South Africa, whilst Mehdi Zeffane replaced the injured Youcef Attal as the Algerians only change.
In the first six minutes, Algeria missed a clear opening from the far post through Baghdad Bounedjah who tapped around the post from a low cross on the left. Nigeria remained on the back-foot with the Algerians bombarding their defensive area through Bounedjah, Youcef Belaili and Riyad Mahrez.
Defensive lapses appeared for Nigeria on 28 minutes after Bounedjah ran behind Kenneth Omeruo to go head on with Daniel Akpeyi, who pulled off a solid point-blank save.
The Desert Foxes eventually broke the deadlock on 40 minutes after William Troost-Ekong, who got the winner against South Africa, netted in to his own net off a cross from Mahrez.
Algeria got off to a decent start early in the second half, while Nigeria threw numbers forward for an immediate equaliser. The opening interphase resulted in a limited amount of goal-scoring chances, as a hard-wrenching midfield battle took place.
With just under 20 minutes to go, the Super Eagles were handed a penalty after a review from the Video Assistant Referee, who ruled a handball by Aissa Mandi, allowing Odion Ighalo to send M'Bolhi the wrong way.
Into added time, Ismael Bennacer stinged the crossbar with a powerful shot from the left side of the area.
With the final kick of the game, Mahrez brought the stadium to life with a top-drawer free-kick from the edge of the area to secure victory and a spot in Friday's final against Senegal.