Super Eagles’ impressive AFCON 2025 campaign

FOR want of a better word, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was a phenomenal run for the Super Eagles of Nigeria. The three-time African champions had lost the final African ticket of the World Cup play-offs to the Les Leopards of DR Congo, and were fully determined to make Nigerians happy by lifting the AFCON trophy in Morocco. During the group stage matches, the Eagles went for the kill: they dispatched Tanzania  2-1 in their opening game played at the Fez Stadium, Morocco, on December 23, 2025; saw off the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia by a 3-2 margin on December 27, and put the Cranes of Uganda to the sword on December 30 with a 3-1 scoreline. Then came the Round of 16, where they put the world on notice of their intention to challenge for the title with a  4-0 victory over Mozambique. That was on January 6, 2026.

It seemed, to virtually everyone who watched the AFCON, that the Eagles had developed a new love affair with goals. That was quite evident when they faced Algeria on January 10, 2026. They played so beautifully and sent the Algerians out of the AFCON with an emphatic 2-0 win. And the goals? They were such a beauty, particularly the second goal which saw Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen combining with the new sensation, Sevilla striker Akor Adams, and producing one of the most iconic moments at the AFCON. Osimhen produced an assist of the ages and Adams virtually walked into the Algerian net after dribbling goalkeeper Luca Zidane. What a glorious move that was!

As expected, the semi-final match against the Atlas Lions of Morocco was a testy, nervy one. The match ended goalless in regulation time, then the Eagles lost the ensuing penalty 2-4. Perhaps the Eagles were not at their best in that game, but the terrible role that the referee Daniel Laryea played in that game cannot escape mention. The Ghanaian referee blew against the Eagles at every available opportunity and made calls that even the Moroccan players questioned at a point. At a stage, Nigeria’s midfielder, Alex Iwobi, fell to the pitch in sheer exhaustion after witnessing yet another questionable call by the referee. In the third-place playoff, though, the Eagles put the big disappointment behind them, securing the bronze medal after defeating the Pharaohs of Egypt 4–2 on penalties. That was in Casablanca on January 17, 2026. The victory marked Nigeria’s ninth AFCON bronze. Heading into the game, the Super Eagles had not lost an AFCON bronze. And so when goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali saved two penalties, including one from Liverpool superstar, Mo Salah, and Simon Moses, Alex Iwobi, Akor Adams and Ademola Lookman all converted their kicks for Nigeria, shaking off Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s early miss, it became evident that Nigeria’s bronze record was going to be preserved.

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Reacting to the result, President Bola Tinubu congratulated the team, stating that the “bronze medal surely feels good like gold”. As he noted, “Despite their good run during the tournament, the Eagles lost the semi-final match to Morocco during the penalty shootout, and our people’s hopes of winning the championship were dashed. However, our players remained undaunted, and exhibiting the resilience of the Nigerian spirit, their efforts have now paid off. We will all be proud of them as they receive their hard-earned bronze medal on Sunday in Rabat, Morocco.”

The president was spot on. During the AFCON, Coach Eric Chelle and his team received widespread praise for their performance. For the first time in many years, Nigerians saw a compact team, almost like what the country had in the 90s. Many analysts, including football greats such as Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba, rated the Eagles as playing “the best football” at the tournament. Although they won only the bronze medal, the Eagles evidently played far better than they did at the previous AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, where they had emerged runners-up. The Eagles scored the highest number of goals in the group stage and did not concede a single goal during the knockout stage. They were only eliminated from the competition via a penalty shootout, which could have gone either way. This was despite the poor officiating. That was the only match they lost at the AFCON. With a 14-goal tally, the Eagles indeed finished as the highest scoring team at the tournament, and had three players (Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen and Calvin Bassey) in the Team of the Tournament.

We commend the Super Eagles for their superlative display in Morocco. Yes, they did not lift a fourth AFCON, but their desire to do so was in ample evidence. They deserve plaudits. On the other hand, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) managed to fail Nigerians once again. It ensured that the tournament did not end without the accustomed row over bonuses. The government eventually resolved the bonus dispute, but that was after the Eagles had threatened to boycott training ahead of their quarter-final match against Algeria. At the time, the players were awaiting payment for the wins against Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Mozambique! Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, linked the delay to bureaucratic bottlenecks and foreign exchange challenges, but the damage had been done.  Besides, the NFF did not protest the racist treatment of goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali by Morocco fans who threw bananas at him. Nor did it protest the seizure of Nwabali’s towels during the semi-final, or the poor officiating that was to later lead to bigger issues at the AFCON final involving the Teranga Lions of Senegal and the Atlas Lions. It must do better going forward, or it will plunge Nigeria’s football into yet another crisis.

It is no surprise that following their AFCON 2025 display, the Eagles moved from 38th to 26th in the world, marking their highest FIFA ranking in 16 years, since May 2010. They are now ranked as the third-best team in Africa.  We commend the team for a job well done.