African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[Adbitco]

The officials for the Nigeria Vs Morocco match has been unveiled by CAF. The centre referee is going to be Daniel Nii Ayi from Ghana and the VAR referee will be Tom Abongile from South Africa. Given the history of these 3 nations on social media, Nigerians are not comfortable with this, it could have been from other nation but not these two. I have seen were doubts are been expressed online. We all know that Ghana and Nigeria use to banter each other same thing with Nigeria and South Africa. These 3 nations when it comes to football they are always at logger heads and the Nigerian fans has expressed their displeasure in the selection of these officials saying that they might want to favour the Morocco against Nigeria because of their online banter.

If CAF wants to use referees that everybody will like then it is very possible that we won't have any referees on match day, if CAF changes the referees that Nigerians are not comfortable with you won't expect Morocco, to like the ones that CAF will replace them with. A referee cannot deny a clear goal so our super eagles should go for goals and shame the referees if they have any intentions of being biased. Referees are supposed to be professional it doesn't matter if they are from a country that is a rival to the team that they want to officiate. Ghana, and Nigerian, banters shouldn't stop the referee from Ghana, to do his job afterall Nigeria, is not playing against Ghana, or south Africa, I expect our super eagles to continue with their victory to the final of this AFCON and lift the trophy.

In this very tournament a country has requested for a change of referee and CAF did exactly that for them, I will try to confirm the country again but it's a North African country. They claimed the ref was going to be biased against them and they requested for a change and CAF granted it. Even in club football, it's not just here, I have heard Chelsea players always saying their team performs poorly when a particular referee is in charge of their game due to the refs biased decision against them. Last season we saw Real Madrid management up against a particular referee in the El classico and due to the pressure, he was forced to be careful in his officiating of that match. So the Nigerian fans had every right to agitate on the referee. The agitation is a wake up call and for the referee to be aware that eyes will be in him so his forced to make the right decision. I watched a little part of the game and frankly, to the best of my knowledge, he was ok in the match.

[Umulala-alala]

I noticed that the super eagles are not good when it comes to penalty shot out it was in the penalty that we got  knocked out from the world cup qualifier by Dr congo, it's very bad they we got eliminated by the host country Morocco. The Morocco team played well and they deserve to win the super eagles, i also realize that we are not good when it comes to penalty shot out, our goal keeper Nwabali did his best we should also stop blaming Samuel chukueze for his penalty miss this is football one side will surely make a mistake for the other to move on.

[Odusko]

Now it’s penalty shootout and my heart is pacing, with Bounou in goal for the Moroccans.

I said it that when you put your hope on Nigerians to win an important match, they end up messing it up. Morocco was the better side in the penalty shootout, I knew it that Nigeria wouldn't be able to make it to the finals when it comes to penalties. Morocco will play Senegal in the finals. It's gon be an interesting game.

We can't totally write out the efforts put into the Afcon by Nigeria players this period of the competition, their have been exceptionally good this season, but yesterday their played differently with a lot of fear o are their tired just trying to defend their side from conceding goals and at the end it ended in a penalty shootout that favored the host country Morocco in the end.

[Frankolala]

Now it’s penalty shootout and my heart is pacing, with Bounou in goal for the Moroccans.

I said it that when you put your hope on Nigerians to win an important match, they end up messing it up. Morocco was the better side in the penalty shootout, I knew it that Nigeria wouldn't be able to make it to the finals when it comes to penalties. Morocco will play Senegal in the finals. It's gon be an interesting game.

We can't totally write out the efforts put into the Afcon by Nigeria players this period of the competition, their have been exceptionally good this season, but yesterday their played differently with a lot of fear o are their tired just trying to defend their side from conceding goals and at the end it ended in a penalty shootout that favored the host country Morocco in the end.

Penalty is not always in favor of Nigeria because we babe poor penalty shooters. Osimhen is still the best penalty taker bit he's not always on the pitch whenever, the game extends to penalties. Look at the Super Eagles last match, they got kivked out in penalties. I think a lot of work needs to be done in the team when it comes to taking penalties. It's so annoying that all their efforts of many goals in their previous matches was just numbers, they didn't continue in thy momentum till the end.

[Umulala-alala]

Now it’s penalty shootout and my heart is pacing, with Bounou in goal for the Moroccans.

I said it that when you put your hope on Nigerians to win an important match, they end up messing it up. Morocco was the better side in the penalty shootout, I knew it that Nigeria wouldn't be able to make it to the finals when it comes to penalties. Morocco will play Senegal in the finals. It's gon be an interesting game.

We can't totally write out the efforts put into the Afcon by Nigeria players this period of the competition, their have been exceptionally good this season, but yesterday their played differently with a lot of fear o are their tired just trying to defend their side from conceding goals and at the end it ended in a penalty shootout that favored the host country Morocco in the end.

Penalty comes with luck and it was unfortunate that it didn't favour the super eagles, i  will say we tried getting the semi final is not very easy with our performance i thought that we are going to be unstoppable after winning Algeria 2-0, frankly speaking we can't write them off because they lost to Morocco during the penalty shot out. Morocco is strong country their team is good and i also see them as the favorite nation to win the 2026 AFCON against Senegal.

[Barikui1]

Penalty is not always in favor of Nigeria because we babe poor penalty shooters. Osimhen is still the best penalty taker bit he's not always on the pitch whenever, the game extends to penalties. Look at the Super Eagles last match, they got kivked out in penalties. I think a lot of work needs to be done in the team when it comes to taking penalties. It's so annoying that all their efforts of many goals in their previous matches was just numbers, they didn't continue in thy momentum till the end.

It saddens me that Samuel chukwueze just came into the fray and threw away the effort of the rest of his fellow country men, or was he trying to get back at the coach for not playing his earlier?
Because if you look at his penalty and how unbothered he was, it's clear that he knows what he did, he just pass the ball to the goal keeper just to threw away the effort of others. Left for me he should never come close to our national team again since he is only interested in his selfish interest, instead of the progress of the team.

[Anayochukwu]

It's unfortunate that Super Eagles has disappoint us the second time, after all the trust we put on them. Sometimes we shouldn't conclude for a match that hasn't been played yet because I could remember the way Nigerians were jubilating after Senegal won against Egypt they were sure that Super Eagles would play in the final with Senegal, I was looking at them because football is unpredictable and the Super Eagles was so confident that they would be the winner forgetting that they playing with an experience county so that is what hinder the Eagles.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

I watched a little part of the game and frankly, to the best of my knowledge, he was ok in the match.

No, he wasn't, there were lots of erroneous officiating in that match in favour of Morrocco, for example, if the referee gave yellow cards to Moroccan players for same offences as dragging someone back like he gave to Nigerian players, some of them would even have received red cards in that match but he distributed the cards unfairly.

Nigeria cannot protest his unfairness; I cannot do that too if I was representing them because they didn't have a very beautiful display against the Moroccans. From the first half, I was sure we were heading home, just some couple of luck that we didn't concede before 90 mins. In all honesty, Morrocco was better. Ndidi was greatly missed yesterday, Bruno tried his best, but the midfield didn't just function well.

In yesterday's match, Calvin Bassey was my hero, even though they didn't progress further, I so much love that boy. Without him defending against Egypt, The Nigerian defense is not going to be very strong IMO.

[Mayor of ogba]

Senegal deservedly through to the final, I was very disappointed with Egypt. They were so defensive for nearly the whole game. They only came out and trued to play right at the end after Mane had scored.

Nigeria vs Morocco kicks off shortly, I am rooting for the Nigerian’s. I like quite a few of their players especially Osimhen and Lookman.

It seems Egypt coach figured out his team can't match up with Senegal's energy, and he instructed his men to play a low block game so that they can stop Senegal from scoring, and at some point the tactic was working for Egypt, and they could have ended the match as a draw, but Mane finding the back of the net in the 78th spoiled Egypt's tactic.

[HajiBagi]

I noticed that the super eagles are not good when it comes to penalty shot out it was in the penalty that we got  knocked out from the world cup qualifier by Dr congo, it's very bad they we got eliminated by the host country Morocco. The Morocco team played well and they deserve to win the super eagles, i also realize that we are not good when it comes to penalty shot out, our goal keeper Nwabali did his best we should also stop blaming Samuel chukueze for his penalty miss this is football one side will surely make a mistake for the other to move on.

Before the game, I said that we should not think Nigeria will defeat Morroco, many of my Nigerians colleagues are predicting that we are going to defeat Morroco and we are going to win the trophy then see how it is now, we have been eliminated by morroco in the penalty shootout, we should even thank the players that they did their best to make us reach the penalty shootout, Morroco was the better team and they deserve to be in the final because if Nigeria qualify to the final, we can not win the trophy with that kind of performance we display against Morroco, they outplayed us in the match.

All I can say is congratulations to Morroco for reaching the final of the Afcon and i will not be surprised if they win the title because they deserve it, the competition is played in Morroco and they have the fans that will support them throughout the entire tournament, so they are the favourites to win the title, some people are blaming the referee that he was unfair to Nigeria but for me I don’t see anything bad there because he is not the one that played a penalty for our players.

[ajanwalker]

Morocco played very effectively against Nigeria. Nigeria didn't have any memorable chances. They were very ineffective as a team. Morocco advanced to the final on penalties. I found it strange that Osimhen was substituted for Onuachu in the final minutes of extra time. I didn't understand why such a change was made when the winner would be decided by penalties. Osimhen is a good penalty taker. I think the coach should have considered this and made the substitution accordingly. Morocco and Senegal will compete to be the best in Africa. Morocco seemed slightly better to me.

[Iamgoat]

I noticed that the super eagles are not good when it comes to penalty shot out it was in the penalty that we got  knocked out from the world cup qualifier by Dr congo, it's very bad they we got eliminated by the host country Morocco. The Morocco team played well and they deserve to win the super eagles, i also realize that we are not good when it comes to penalty shot out, our goal keeper Nwabali did his best we should also stop blaming Samuel chukueze for his penalty miss this is football one side will surely make a mistake for the other to move on.

I will not stop blaming Chukwueze oo. Because he messed up yesterday. When someone is at fault, it is good for us to be bold enough to spot it on, it is the same thing he does to other players when they make mistakes, now he has made the greatest mistake of his career this year by stopping us from going to the finals. He was the one who killed the morale of Bruno which led to Bruno losing too. At least he was given the right opportunity to showcase all his years of experience but he made it look like it’s a joke. How will you come up on stage to play and you’re even busy chewing gum. If he knew he had no confidence or great concerns about winning, then why come forward to play. He could have made a statement yesterday and we would have been so proud of him even when we eventually lose. I dislike it when we give excuses for failure joor. Well done to the super eagle stars with a special shout out to Osimhen, Lookman and my forever legend in yesterday’s game Calvin Bassey amongst other’s except Chukwueze 👎🏼

[Mayor of ogba]

Now it’s penalty shootout and my heart is pacing, with Bounou in goal for the Moroccans.

I said it that when you put your hope on Nigerians to win an important match, they end up messing it up. Morocco was the better side in the penalty shootout, I knew it that Nigeria wouldn't be able to make it to the finals when it comes to penalties. Morocco will play Senegal in the finals. It's gon be an interesting game.

We can't totally write out the efforts put into the Afcon by Nigeria players this period of the competition, their have been exceptionally good this season, but yesterday their played differently with a lot of fear o are their tired just trying to defend their side from conceding goals and at the end it ended in a penalty shootout that favored the host country Morocco in the end.

Penalty comes with luck and it was unfortunate that it didn't favour the super eagles, i  will say we tried getting the semi final is not very easy with our performance i thought that we are going to be unstoppable after winning Algeria 2-0, frankly speaking we can't write them off because they lost to Morocco during the penalty shot out. Morocco is strong country their team is good and i also see them as the favorite nation to win the 2026 AFCON against Senegal.

A penalty shootout is a game of luck, and for you to be luck enough to win a game from a penalty shootout, you must play your penalties like someone who want to win a match from a penalty shootout. Nwabali helped us by saving Morocco's second penalty, which the Super Eagles could have capitalized on and won the match but since they were not serious with the penalty shootout, they gave Morocco the opportunity to win them in the penalty shootout.

[yixichloro2xx]

It's unfortunate that Super Eagles has disappoint us the second time, after all the trust we put on them. Sometimes we shouldn't conclude for a match that hasn't been played yet because I could remember the way Nigerians were jubilating after Senegal won against Egypt they were sure that Super Eagles would play in the final with Senegal, I was looking at them because football is unpredictable and the Super Eagles was so confident that they would be the winner forgetting that they playing with an experience county so that is what hinder the Eagles.

Nigeria played absolute rubbish yesterday, they can't even hold the ball for 20 seconds, made only 1 shots on target. They were not pressing the Morrocans, hadn't been Nigeria played the way they did against Algeria, they could have scored. But no, they decided to sit back throughout the game, when they are not even winning. What happened yesterday is just a replica of the game against Dr congo.  The only person I was proud in that squad yesterday was Calvin Bassey, that guy defended and played very well. Our wingbacks can't even cross or dribble, they lose ball anyhow. I don't know what Eric Chelle tactics was, why didn't he make a tactical change in the second half. What now annoy me the most was chukwueze, like I don't want ever see that guy wear Nigeria shirt again. He has never done anything reasonable that benefits the team , only to make noise.

[Jostern]

It's unfortunate that Super Eagles has disappoint us the second time, after all the trust we put on them. Sometimes we shouldn't conclude for a match that hasn't been played yet because I could remember the way Nigerians were jubilating after Senegal won against Egypt they were sure that Super Eagles would play in the final with Senegal, I was looking at them because football is unpredictable and the Super Eagles was so confident that they would be the winner forgetting that they playing with an experience county so that is what hinder the Eagles.

I’m sorry the Super Eagles disappointed you guys, unfortunately it rained on you guys heavily the second time, you could’ve been more cautious with your support for the Super Eagles, Well I have a piece of advice for you, you should be careful how you support the Nigerian Super Eagles, they’re made for serving breakfast, and they will Continue dishing disappointment, right now I believe they are in an unbelievable streak of serving disappointment.

When I saw the Super Eagles beat Mozambique 4 nil, I immediately knew they were cooking Breakfast to dish out to their Supporters, because I’ve never seen them beat a team 4 nil.

Senegal is a strong team, Morocco is a strong team, and they’re tactically stronger compared to the Nigerian Super Eagles, I was actually laughing when Super Eagles fans were getting carried away, they believed they will beat Morroco on home soil, because they beat Mozambique an inferior team.

Now I’m happy they’ve lost everyone is disappointed, I’m having the last laugh in this Thread.

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

A penalty shootout is a game of luck, and for you to be luck enough to win a game from a penalty shootout, you must play your penalties like someone who want to win a match from a penalty shootout. Nwabali helped us by saving Morocco's second penalty, which the Super Eagles could have capitalized on and won the match but since they were not serious with the penalty shootout, they gave Morocco the opportunity to win them in the penalty shootout.

That's true, it's a game of luck that's why I won't react out of anger of being kicked out, the Super Eagles tried their best they did everything they can to go into the semifinals but luck wasn't just on their side.
 Also, I think the referee was very bias, he favoured Morroca mostly and made several wrong calls that needed questioning. Well what surprised me is that both Osimhen and Lookman were not very visible in ths match, the Moroccan central backs did everything possible to make sure there wasn't much connections between then and Alex Iweobi, their defense was solid.

[Sexylizzy2813]

Next Game: Nigeria vs Morocco

This game seems like the finals to me and who ever wins this encounter will be crowded champions. The host nation Morocco will do whatever it takes to be in the finals and I'd say this, the pressure is more on the Moroccans because the fans expect them to win the AFCON and for the Eagles, they have been the best of this tournament and with that perfect record, winning every single game and now all eyes are on the Super Eagles. The obstacles are much, Ghana Ref and the VAR room we have South Africa Ref so now is like Nigeria are playing against 13 players, (1) the 11 players on the pitch, the fans of Morocco (because I know they're going to be more than we expect) and finally (3) the refs both the ones in the VAR room, so it will be a long night for the Super Eagles.
For the Super Eagles to win this game without minding what's happening on and off the pitch, I think they need to keep playing the way they have been playing and again, very important...is to handle the game like how Germany national team played against Brazil in the World Cup where they won by 7 goals to 1, take the game to the Moroccans, for e them to defend instead of attacking and make sure every opportunity counts, that's how it should be done...we can win this game.

Professionalism aside I’m not comfortable with the choice of officials for this game, I have a feeling they might be biased cos of the ongoing banter with said Countries…… but it’s football.
The Super Eagles are ready to take this match to whatever level the Moroccans can bring and overpower them, what a beauty it’ll be an all West African Finals hosted in the North. Winter is coming…

Since last night I haven't been myself because of the way and manner the game ended, the Super Eagles were just there on the field without getting anything back or should I say giving the Morocco defense anything to worry about. Honestly I wish we never made it this far at least all these feelings won't have come to play, 90'mins without any better opportunity, we scored the highest number of goals in this tournament but yet we could not find at least 1 goal against the host or even to stress the goalkeeper was out of the plan. This is sad I must say.

[9ja Amaka]

We can't totally write out the efforts put into the Afcon by Nigeria players this period of the competition, their have been exceptionally good this season, but yesterday their played differently with a lot of fear o are their tired just trying to defend their side from conceding goals and at the end it ended in a penalty shootout that favored the host country Morocco in the end.

I never saw fear in them. They were very careful not to go all in. The last time I watched a game like that was the last match between Liverpool and Arsenal. The game ended in a goalless draw. The both team were capable of forcing the attack, at the same time, they are careful if by any chance they loose the ball, they wont concede a goal.

The moment the game went down to penalties, I knew it was going to be a 50/50 thing. Penalty win, can fall for the worst team or the best team. It is a thing of luck, so I am still proud of the Super Eagles.

[KTChampions]

Now it’s penalty shootout and my heart is pacing, with Bounou in goal for the Moroccans.

I said it that when you put your hope on Nigerians to win an important match, they end up messing it up. Morocco was the better side in the penalty shootout, I knew it that Nigeria wouldn't be able to make it to the finals when it comes to penalties. Morocco will play Senegal in the finals. It's gon be an interesting game.

I don't know if Morocco really are that good at penalties, but I think they just got lucky in the lottery (though I don't deny that skill plays a role here, too). I remember writing before the semifinals that Morocco/Nigeria was a 50/50 match for me, while bookmakers were giving Morocco 2+ and Nigeria 3+. I think I was more accurate  Morocco may have had more scoring chances, but nevertheless, the regular and extra time ended with a score of 0-0 (which, by the way, was a big disappointment for the spectators of which there were 65+ thousand).

[Dunamisx]

Once the full time play could not deliver full match expectations, then anything could have happened if a match resulted into penalty, whereby this cannot be a way to determine the strength or weaknesses of how a team could play, penalty is just like a game of lucky kick, anyone could win and take advantage on that, had it been the Super Eagles manage to have a goal before the full time play, that alone would have made history and rewrite on the past.