Match Day LIVE
Match Week 5
Semi finals – CAF African Cup of Nations .2025.
Nigeria vs Morrocco
Venue – Prince Moulay Abdulay stadium ,Rabat .
Date – January 14th, 2026 .
Time – 9.00 pm
Two Down , One To Go should be the headline for today’s semi finals encounter as Nigeria who have earlier eliminated two Maghrebian North African giants ,,Tunisia and Algeria , 3-2 and 2-0 respectively , faces the hosts ,another Maghreb Nation Morocco , that’s countries , North West of Africa in the African continent geography tonight
So far so good ,Is it going to be a continuation of the gradual and systematic elimination of the Mahgrebians from the on going Afcon 2025 in Mororco by the Super Eagles when they file out against another opposition from North Africa , Morocco and also the host of the tournament .?!????.
In the other semi final early today the Teranga Lions of Senegal faces defending champions , the Elephants of Ivory Coast .
This year’s semi finals seems to be a battle of the West African and North African Nations .
This is about the finest semi finals match of the two , featuring some of the continents finest crop of players ,including recent CAF player of the year Winners , Mohammed Sallah , Achraf Hakimi , Victor Isemehin,Ademola Lookmon , Sadio Mane , all representing in the remaining four Nations .
The Super Eagles of Nigeira has been one the stand out stories at the on going Afcon in Morocco , after missing out at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the Mundial in America early this year, , .exceeding expectations and rough riding football pundits forcasts ahead of the tournament , they were almost seen as *Unde Achievers * as they could not over come the Leopards of Congo DR during the World Cup qualifiers when they lost out via penalties after a 1-1 draw at full and extra time .
Nigeria who shoulders the responsibility of high expectation and having won the Nations Cup three times , will definitely manage the pressure under their Malian born Eric Chelle who has tutored the vastly and star studded Eagles to their present state of football prowess .with the toga of the giant of Africa will also elicit more confidence in the team ahead of the Maghrebians , Morocco .
Nigeria with modest expectation from the group stage , they responded with fluent attacking football , pukka play as well as precise passes with slight defensive vulnerabilities having only two clean sheets against Mozambique 4-0 and Algeria 2-0 during the group games and quarter finals to scale through the round of 16 as well as the quarter finals , with some of the best attacking displays in the tournament so far will be a bit hard to beat by the Maghrebians .
The Super Eagles opened their campaign with a brace against Taifa Stars of Tanzania 2-1 and a dramatic revenge win 3-2 against the Carthaginians , Tunisia , who eliminated Nigeria 1-0 in the 2019 edition of Afcon to secure early qualification then , the Eagles , rotated their squad to beat the Cranes of Uganda 3-1 in their last group games , before emphatically rough riding minnows , Mozambique 4-0 in their first clean sheet of the campaign , then dismissing one of the tournaments favourites , the Desert Foxes of Algeria in another clean sheet ,2-0
Nigeria is the tournaments highest goal scorers with 14 goals from five matches , what an intimidating statistics which Morocco should not take for granted despite their teeming home supporters tonight , is enough hand writing on the wall for them to beware, conceding four and keeping two clean sheets , with their lethal attacking prowess anchored by Victor Osimenhn , Lookmon Ademola and Akors Adams and supported by mid field dynamo , Alex Iwobi , while the midfield or engine room and the rare guard , that comes with leadership and balance come from Wifred Ndidi ,who will be absent today due to multiple card issues , Fullham tall but powerful Calvin Bassey , Seyi Ajayi ,Frank Onyeka and goal tender Stanley Nwabili respectively .
The two countries have met 11 times in all competitions since 1969 with Morocco having an edge over the Super Eagles , with six wins and Eagles four and a draw .in a rivalry shaped by World Cup qualifiers and Afcon matches with notable Nigerian success in 1980 and year 2000.
This balance of power in football have shifted lately with the Mahgrebians having an upper hand with six wins except the outstandijg success of Nigeira when they bea them 2-0 then the outrageous defeat 4-0 of the Eagles in the Afcon match in 2018 , CHAN by Morocco .
The Moroccan opened their campaign with two straight wins , one against the hard fighting Comoros Island 2-0, and an emphatic pummeling of Zambia 3-0 in their second group games and a draw 1-1 against Mali . Coach and former player Walid Regragui blending home support and a disciplined defensive structure , though not too convincing in their over all performance , may be today’s semi finals cracker against a formidable foe like the Eagles may likely expose their hidden weaknesses. as they struggled past minnows , Comoros Island and Mali as well with 2-0 win and a scrappy 1-1 draw .
In the knockout stages , the Atlas Lions dismissed a flat footed Indomitable Lions of Csmeroons team 2-0 where Brahim Diaz of Real Madrid showed a class act by scoring in their five matches , which no player has done in the last 15 years with their dominant ball possession and set piece efficiency as well as compact defence organisation .
The pillar in that victory is Diaz opening goal and Saibari s second which preserves Moroccan unbeaten run in open play ,which also underlines their ability to manage risk while remaining disciplined in high pressure matches .
The Atlas Lions have qualified for the semi finals for the fifth time , and their most significant campaign so far since 2004 , with only one debut finals appearance in 1988 as hosts in MAROC 88.
Their major story line has been the performance of Diaz who is the only player who has scored in the first five Afcon matches in the last 15 years .together with Regragui s tactical discipline in shaping a side capable of combining pragmatic defence with threats of attacking discipline .
While Nigeria boasts of free flowing attacking football, Morocco’s strength lies in defensive solidity , having conceded just one goal so far in their five matches , should also be a source of worry for Eric Chelle s army of the Super Eagles and none from open play , a foundation that has made them a formidable opponent at home .
The Super Eagles have already been dealt a major blow with t he absence of captain and Beskistas midfielder Wilfred Ndidi with series of accumulated yellow card offences during the group and quarter finals matches , he is going to sit out in the dugout , while Raphael Onyedika will come in his place with his five star performance against Uganda where he scored two goals .
Also Bright Osayi Samuel will not be available tonight as he was forced out of the Algeisn match while Panatinaikos forward ,Cyril Dessers will not feature as he was also forced out of the squad with a thigh injury .
Tall but powerful Fulham of England defender Calvin Bassey , who may not have realised till now how powerful he is , is strongly in contention for today’s hostilities, with his commanding presence at the rare .
While club mate Alex Iwobi I who has been a key figure in the engine room or midfield for the cracker against the Moroccans will be feeding the Super Eagles terrible trio of Osimenhn , Lookmon and Akor Adams as they plan to dismember the near flat footed rare men of the Atlas Lions in Rabat .
Midfield maestro Simon Moses of Paris FC is also likely to make the list for todays encounter with his flashes of crosses that renders any unserious defence impotent .
The Atlas Lions have been near impressive but not perfect so far in their matches there have been cases of favoritism especially in their match against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon was well evident , when a Cameroonian attacker was badly kicked in their eighteen yard box of the Moroccans in the quarter finals and the referee ignored it even the VAR did not do the verification and the Lioms lost to Morocco 2-1 , hope it doe not repeat tonight .
The return of Captain Achraf Hakimi of PSG is a welcome development to the squad , but they also have injury concerns to contend with , .midfielder Azzeduje Ounnahi is out of today’s match with a calf injury , while former Wolves defender Romain Sassis remain unavailable after his injury in their opening match against Comoros Island .
Real Madrid Star , Diaz who have scored five goals in five matches will definitely be a big threat to the Eagles rare men and with the absence of Ndidi may give them a field day to roam freely in Super Eagles vital area .though Coach Walid Regragui will be optimistic with no serious injury concern in his squad as they file out against Nigeria .
Predictions .
The Super Eagles have navigated all the spheres of influence in the round leather game in this tournament with their depth pukka play ,precise passes ,authority and quality to make amends for not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup ,with their attacking efficiency and balance ,underlying why they remain a force to be reckoned with in this tournament and African football.
The Atlas Lions with their home support will a bit difficult to beat and the weight of expectations of lifting the trophy after hosting in 1988 ,MAROC 88 and lost . they will use this opportunity at home again to see if they can win this time , but if history is anything to go by they may host and lose . History has a way to repeat itself if we mere mortals refuse to learn from the lessons of football history this time , though Nigeira s attacking displays in this tournament shows they are unlikely to slow down and pul another win to reach another finals .
There may be an extra time ,at ful tiime if a winner did not emerge at regulation time of 90+ minutes
We expect a good match from both teams with goals from either side .
Nigeria 3-1 Morocco .
Happy Viewing , Happy Afcon tournament
Uche Anaba .
Uchefreetips 2025 (C).
Email -ucheanaba@gmail.com
Visit –
https://worldbeatx.com/
