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The 2-0 win of the African thriller in the coastal city of Qinhuangdao now pitches Nigeria against Belgium , setting up a first-ever encounter between both countries at any level.
What is more, Nigeria can now begin to dream of a repeat performance of their 1996 feat when they became the first team outside Europe to win the Olympic gold in 68 years.
Should they overcome Belgium in Shanghai Tuesday, they will set up one of the fixtures of their last two games of Atlanta '96.
They will meet either Brazil or Argentina in the final. They overcame both in the semi final and final respectively 12 years ago.
"We can now begin to dream of a repeat of 1996," said an elated coach Samson Siasia, now happier than he was after the group match against US.
"It's a much improved team, we paraded today and the boys played to instruction. As you can see, we improve with every match and we will maintain the momentum till the last game," said Siasia.
His Ivorian counterpart, Frenchman Gerard Gilli, agrees with him and conceded superiority to the Nigerian side in the All-Africa quarter-final match.
"The Nigerian side is a good team and physically strong. They have my respect."
Respect was an element that played out throughout the thrilling night as both sides seemed to know each other very well.
Dangerman for the Ivorian side, Salomon Kalou, was well pocketed, especially in the first half in which Nigeria had a slight control and took more shots on target.
With the scoreline looking barren, Nigeria made the best use of their last-minute attack in the first half.
Obinna Nsofor, captain of the side, caught Odemwingie with what seemed like an electronically-teleguided pass and the sole overage player in the team struck th3e ball past the Ivorian goalkeeper Vincent Angban.
He crowned his good efforts by laying the pass that led to an infringement which gave Nigeria a penalty kick goal in the second half.
As the game became a ding dong affair in the second half with both sides losing chances, Odemwingie threw a long pass to Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi who sprinted into the penalty box and was brought down by Souleyman Bamba.
Nsofor made no mistake to tuck in the goal that took the game beyond the Ivorians.
He was to remark after the game that the feat of the earlier Nigerian team 12 years ago has put a lot of pressure on the current side.
"We know the expectations of many Nigerians back home. We know they expect nothing short of the gold medal," Nsofor said.
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