Super Eagles Dream of Winning AFCON 2025 Ends in ShootoutsDefeat
Duro Ikhazuagbe in Rabat
The penalty taken by Samuel Chukwueze in Super Eagles 2-4 AFCON 2025 shootouts defeat by hosts Morocco last night will go down in Nigerian football history as the most lackadaisical ever played by a player wearing the senior national team colours.
With scored deadlocked goalless in 120 minutes, the AC Milan player on loan at Fulham, stepped forward and played a tepid tap that Morocco goalkeeper stopped from going into his net with relative ease.
Bruno Onyemaechi’s kick was no less better. It lacked the fire power that would have allowed it sail beyond the goal line after goalkeeper Yassine Bounou had left his line and only had to dive back to stop it.
Paul Onuachu and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored from the spot, goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali saved one of Morocco’s kicks, while Chukwueze and Onyemaechi had their efforts saved by Man of the Match goalkeeper Yassine Bounou of Morocco.
Although Morocco lost a kick in the shootouts, there were urgency and force in the only one parried out by Stanley Nwabali.
The defeat was a hard pill for Nigerians inside the impossing Mohammed. VI Sports Complex to swallow and only took consolation in Nigeria still have the chance to take on Egypt in the. Third place match.
Youssef En-Nesyri stroked the winning spot-kick into the bottom-left corner to throw the over 65,458 Moroccan fans inside the stadium into massive celebration.
In a game of few chances a shootout looked a likely outcome from early in proceedings.
Tournament top scorer Brahim Diaz squandered Morocco’s best opening just before the half hour, misjudging a header from Achraf Hakimi’s right-wing cross, with the Real Madrid forward’s effort coming more off his shoulder.
Nigeria’s star forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman were left to feed off scraps all evening, with Lookman’s first-half drive from just outside the penalty area easily saved.
The result means Walid Regragui’s side have reached their first AFCON final since 2004, as they bid to lift the trophy for the first time since 1976.
The Atlas Lions will remain in the capital for Sunday’s final (19:00 GMT) – where they will face Senegal, who beat Egypt 1-0in Wednesday’s first semi-final.
Morocco are now unbeaten in 26 matches – a run stretching back to their last-16 exit at the 2023 Afcon.
But this is only their second AFCON final – having won the 1976 tournament via a final group phase and lost to Tunisia in 2004 – which explains why the fans in the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, and across the country, are so desperate to see their team claim the title on home soil.
For more than a decade, King Mohammed VI has pumped huge amounts of money into Moroccan football, using it as a tool for cultural and societal change.
Having impressed the world by becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final at Qatar 2022, being crowned continental champions is the final piece of the puzzle.
Just like the quarter-final win over Cameroon,the atmosphere inside this newly renovated stadium was frenzied.
But unlike the game against the Indomitable Lions, Nigeria’s more experienced side were able to soak up the early pressure and limit their hosts’ opportunities.
Fulham defender Calvin Bassey in particular was outstanding for Eric Chelle’s side, despite picking up a harsh yellow card in the 33rd minute after his hand caught Diaz in the face – a booking that would have meant missing the final through suspension.
As well as his misjudged header, Diaz curled an early effort wide of Stanley Nwabali’s goal, having cut in from the right flank, while the keeper also made a good block at his near post after Ismael Saibari did well to juggle the ball and fashion a pocket of space for himself.
Chances were at even more of a premium after half-time, which might explain the huge appeals for a penalty when captain Hakimi fired a shot towards goal that hit Bassey’s arm.
