AFCON 2025: Super Eagles experience bitter deja vu in Rabat as host nation strides toward history

Morocco kept their long wait alive and ended the Super Eagles’ run at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025), squeezing through on penalties after a tense, attritional semi-final in Rabat. 

Ninety minutes passed without a goal, not because of caution alone, but because both sides defended with discipline and chose safety whenever risk threatened to creep in.

Nigeria not short of intent, but they struggled for their usual fluency and never cicked into gear. Ademola Lookman tested Yassine Bounou early, while Morocco probed with Brahim Díaz and Achraf Hakimi from range. Chances came in flashes rather than waves, and by the interval it felt like a match shaped more by restraint than ambition, only the second Nigeria game at the tournament to reach the break scoreless.

That pattern barely shifted after the restart. Nigeria had a brief spell of initiative, Morocco responded, and then the contest tightened again. 

Extra time followed naturally, almost inevitably, with the Atlas Lions pressing just enough to suggest danger while the Super Eagles struggled to translate effort into cutting edge.

Penalties haunt Super Eagles again

The shoot-out briefly tilted Nigeria’s way when Hamza Igamane was denied, but momentum swung back just as quickly. Samuel Chukwueze’s miss restored balance, and from there Morocco held their nerve. Bruno Onyemaechi’s effort was stopped, and Youssef En-Nesyri sealed it, sending the hosts through 4–2.

It was a harsh end to Nigeria’s campaign, as the Super Eagles exit AFCON 2025 without defeat in open play across their knockout run, undone only by the lottery of penalties at the end. Also, despite leading the tournament in goals, they were unable to muster sustained threat against the host nation, a fact over which there will be many regrets.

Morocco move on, still chasing a title last lifted in 1976, while Nigeria must regroup quickly. The Super Eagles will now turn attention to a third-place clash against Egypt in Casablanca, carrying with them the frustration of how close they came, and how fine the margins were under the bright lights of Moulay Abdellah.