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

[IceLincoln]

I don't think the team is entirely reliant on him because I've seen us perform even on days he was injured. Even if he doesn't play, he contributes to the team on and off the pitch and I'm not perturbed if he doesn't end up playing. The team with this team is that, the day they're going to win, you'd just know. Look at how Lookman stepped up.

And yes, we're not the best team but there are sometimes we have individual players than can do some individual brilliance from time to time.

I believe the other reason he appears to be very important for the team is that he has no competition in his position - I initially thought Boniface was going to be that guy to give Osimhen a tough challenge for the 9 spot, but he ended up being the biggest flop, hooked and dumped out of the National team.

Until we have real competition in that position, we will be overly reliant on Osimhen, and he has shown on multiple occasions that we cannot cope without him.  He improved the squad when he is on the pitch.

See Victor Osimhen is that Player that when he plays for you there’s no competition, he’s our Messi(unless he’s injured) there might be other available strikers but he overshadows them with his performance, we have a lot of strikers in his position but none is able to take up the mantle when he’s not there. But good a thing we have Akor Adams now, his stats is impressive for the Eagles, and there’s Cyriel Dessers I don’t know why he’s not been called up for serious matches.
We have so many strikers who do so well in their clubs but deem when it comes to Super Eagles…..

[Odusko]

I don’t see anyone on that list I can trust to defend against Mo Salah. He may not be in form at Liverpool but he’s always been very consistent in his national team. However it’s a friendly match, there isn’t much at stake here. We might as well rest our players and give the reserves a try out.

Nigeria is currently losing the game with 2:1 Muhammad Mustafa made the equalizing goal and from the look of things, the Nigeria supper eagles are not going to find any easy ground at the moment and this should be closely monitored as hope fades at the moment.

[letteredhub]

See Victor Osimhen is that Player that when he plays for you there’s no competition, he’s our Messi(unless he’s injured) there might be other available strikers but he overshadows them with his performance, we have a lot of strikers in his position but none is able to take up the mantle when he’s not there. But good a thing we have Akor Adams now, his stats is impressive for the Eagles, and there’s Cyriel Dessers I don’t know why he’s not been called up for serious matches.
We have so many strikers who do so well in their clubs but deem when it comes to Super Eagles…..

Victor Osimhen has no rival in the striking position of the Super Eagles with how he has continued to deliver the Nigerian male national team in every competition and the passion he plays with when I'm the green shirt it always gives me pride to watch him play. Unfortunately the other strikers we have don't seem to play for the Super Eagles with the kind of passion that Victor Osimhen plays with, and it's evident I'm their performance for the Super Eagles comparing to that which they give for their club sides. If every other player would be serious enough to carry the national team with much passion I think things would improve better for the team in the AFCON.

[Jegileman]

See Victor Osimhen is that Player that when he plays for you there’s no competition, he’s our Messi(unless he’s injured) there might be other available strikers but he overshadows them with his performance, we have a lot of strikers in his position but none is able to take up the mantle when he’s not there. But good a thing we have Akor Adams now, his stats is impressive for the Eagles, and there’s Cyriel Dessers I don’t know why he’s not been called up for serious matches.
We have so many strikers who do so well in their clubs but deem when it comes to Super Eagles…..

When Victor Oshimen plays, he gives more hope to other players in the pitch. He’s the kind of player that his nature of person and how he plays and communicate with other players on the field gives them more motivation and confidence in themselves to do more. The super eagles have been trying their best but when Victor Oshimen plays, I personally have more confidence in them to do well. Akor Adams is a very talented player and he’s showing that strength of a good striker that even when Oshimen is no more playing optimally, we will have someone to turn to and bring the hope of a great striker for the national team back again.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

I don’t see anyone on that list I can trust to defend against Mo Salah. He may not be in form at Liverpool but he’s always been very consistent in his national team. However it’s a friendly match, there isn’t much at stake here. We might as well rest our players and give the reserves a try out.

Nigeria is currently losing the game with 2:1 Muhammad Mustafa made the equalizing goal and from the look of things, the Nigeria supper eagles are not going to find any easy ground at the moment and this should be closely monitored as hope fades at the moment.

Its quite unfortunate that the super eagles of Nigeria ended up losing this match conceding 2 goals from their opponent and only managing to score 1 goal in return.

I dont know what to say actually because ever since the super eagles failed to qualify for the coming 2026 world cup, I personally stopped paying much attention to their games, it seems that the boys are not on a good form at the moment which I don't even know if to say its disturbing or OK, but all the same, the boys will be playing against Tanzania on 23rd of December in the African cup of nations, lets hope that they will at least, make Nigeria proud on this one.

[Mr Reporter]

I don’t see anyone on that list I can trust to defend against Mo Salah. He may not be in form at Liverpool but he’s always been very consistent in his national team. However it’s a friendly match, there isn’t much at stake here. We might as well rest our players and give the reserves a try out.

Nigeria is currently losing the game with 2:1 Muhammad Mustafa made the equalizing goal and from the look of things, the Nigeria supper eagles are not going to find any easy ground at the moment and this should be closely monitored as hope fades at the moment.

Its quite unfortunate that the super eagles of Nigeria ended up losing this match conceding 2 goals from their opponent and only managing to score 1 goal in return.

I dont know what to say actually because ever since the super eagles failed to qualify for the coming 2026 world cup, I personally stopped paying much attention to their games, it seems that the boys are not on a good form at the moment which I don't even know if to say its disturbing or OK, but all the same, the boys will be playing against Tanzania on 23rd of December in the African cup of nations, lets hope that they will at least, make Nigeria proud on this one.

See guys I feel so ashamed to even watch the game today I couldn’t believe my eyes today but that aside the pressure was to much on them well this player try his best victor to save their ass because I feel their was no team work, I mean working together i was even told the already that the Egypt are on top of us i just got to see what they where angry about, I just they need to put of energy.

[Ayebabara]

I don’t see anyone on that list I can trust to defend against Mo Salah. He may not be in form at Liverpool but he’s always been very consistent in his national team. However it’s a friendly match, there isn’t much at stake here. We might as well rest our players and give the reserves a try out.

Nigeria is currently losing the game with 2:1 Muhammad Mustafa made the equalizing goal and from the look of things, the Nigeria supper eagles are not going to find any easy ground at the moment and this should be closely monitored as hope fades at the moment.

Those Nigeria fans  who are predicting that Nigeria will win the African Nations Cup can see it clearly from the friendly match with Egypt. If Nigeria cross the group stage, it will be their luck. The Match ended with 2-1. And this game is another set back foe the team.

[Justbillywitt]

Op, I think the current discussion of this thread should be changed to AFCON. AFCON tournaments starts in few days time and because of that the discussion of this thread will be fully focused on that. Since the confederation cup is not active now, I think the AFCON should be our current discussion. You might have forgotten, so I thought it wise to remind you.

[Stepstowealth]

Those Nigeria fans  who are predicting that Nigeria will win the African Nations Cup can see it clearly from the friendly match with Egypt. If Nigeria cross the group stage, it will be their luck. The Match ended with 2-1. And this game is another set back foe the team.

I wonder the kind of hope the people who predict Nigeria to win the African Cup of Nation have because I am one of those who have grown not to expect much from the team no matter the big players in the team. I will not even be surprised they do not make it to the round of 16.

On that news of the Super Eagles still having a way to the world cup, I have started seeing it on online blogs. I hope it is not a news that reduces the focus that the Super Eagles should have in this competition because they need to win it, and have it as a confidence boost going to the world cup if that happens.

[Nightwatchmare]

Francis Ozoho is back to the team and he said, he is ready to play with the Super Eagles Teammates and win the cup for Nigeria. He was one of the Super Eagles experienced Goalkeepers and now he is here to take the number 1 Jersey from Stanley Nwabali and Amas Obasogie. All what we need is the cup and not all this caping.

Super Eagles first match is 23 December 2025.

Tunisia has been given Nigeria issues before but I don't know of this year.

looking at the teams that Nigeria will be facing in the group stages of the Afcon on paper they look easy for the super eagles, but one thing with Nigeria is their inconsistent nature it's really difficult to predict Nigerian games because today they may be up and the next day they are down.but i expect Nigeria to top this group group after the three matches in the group stage.

The super eagles should compensate Nigerians by winning the African cup of Nations for failing to qualify for the world cup next year.the super eagles has been really poor in recent matches which has contributed to their poor run of form.

The super eagles of Nigeria's inconsistency has made people doubt their performance even if they are playing against small teams, but even if the super eagles of Nigeria don't finish as group c leader, i am sure they will finish as the runner-up of group c and qualify for the Afcon knockout stage. Nigeria fans were desperate for the super eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the world cup, but since the super eagles of Nigeria couldn't qualify for the world cup, the super eagles of Nigeria winning the Afcon could be a good way of putting a smile on their fans and making up for failing to qualify for the world cup.

[BIT-BENDER]

Although it was just a pre AFCON friendly match I would still have been very encouraging to see Nigeria win or at least not lose against Egypt even if the match was played in Egypt.
Nigeria have to start doing well against fellow title contenders and I would have expected them to come out with a very respectable result from the match against Egypt but so that wasn't the case because the lost.
The tournament is here now so we would be watching how Nigeria survives.

[Amphenomenon]

Those Nigeria fans  who are predicting that Nigeria will win the African Nations Cup can see it clearly from the friendly match with Egypt. If Nigeria cross the group stage, it will be their luck. The Match ended with 2-1. And this game is another set back foe the team.

We winning the Afcon is slip especially since our most consistent attacking threat is Osimhen and without him were are really lacking in our attack.

I doubt there is a enough team play or good tactics to get this done. Our friendly game tonight against Egypt shows are far we can be from Afcon triumph, we couldn't get a win against them while they were still lacking some key players.

[Ahli38]

(Source)
Bad news for the Gabon national team, where they are reportedly to be losing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who will be absent due to injury. He could potentially miss several matches for his national team at the AFCON. I think Aubameyang is one of the key players for the Gabon national team. And Aubameyang's performance has actually been quite good, where he has had a positive impact on Marseille lately through the goals and even the assists he has created. He is one of the players who has helped Marseille reach the top 3 in the standings. So I think Gabon will really feel the loss of Aubameyang. It may affect their playing style or even the performance of the Gabon national team in upcoming matches. And they will face Cameroon soon. What are your thoughts on this?

[Joy_learns_crypto]

What impact will the over 60 English premier league players going to their respective countries for the African Cup of nations be on the English premier league.
Crucial big names like
Mo Sallah
Amad
Mbuemo
Iwobi
Chukwueze
Basset
Diouf and so many others.

For me a team like Fulham that has over theee players leaving to meet up with their national team will be impacted greatly.

[Hyphen(-)]

Although it was just a pre AFCON friendly match I would still have been very encouraging to see Nigeria win or at least not lose against Egypt even if the match was played in Egypt.
Nigeria have to start doing well against fellow title contenders and I would have expected them to come out with a very respectable result from the match against Egypt but so that wasn't the case because the lost.
The tournament is here now so we would be watching how Nigeria survives.

If you check the lineup, you will see that these players are mostly not first team players, the coach didn’t play the top players in this game reason left for him, but in my opinion, I think this is an opportunity for them to start preparing themselves ahead of the competition because that’s it is starting when teams you are expecting your team to defeat easily will letter turn to something serious that will need more hands to help; therefore, the coach needs to do better in improving the team’s performance ahead of the competition.

[SatoPrincess]

What impact will the over 60 English premier league players going to their respective countries for the African Cup of nations be on the English premier league.
Crucial big names like
Mo Sallah
Amad
Mbuemo
Iwobi
Chukwueze
Basset
Diouf and so many others.

For me a team like Fulham that has over theee players leaving to meet up with their national team will be impacted greatly.

The EPL clubs and other league clubs that have African players will just have to manage their squad until the players are back from the AFCON. Obviously some teams are going to have worse than others. Manchester United for example will be losing two key players Amad and Mbuemo while Liverpool wouldn’t miss Salah because he’s not a starter in Arne Slot’s team.

[Davidvictorson]

If you check the lineup, you will see that these players are mostly not first team players, the coach didn’t play the top players in this game reason left for him, but in my opinion, I think this is an opportunity for them to start preparing themselves ahead of the competition because that’s it is starting when teams you are expecting your team to defeat easily will letter turn to something serious that will need more hands to help; therefore, the coach needs to do better in improving the team’s performance ahead of the competition.

What if these players are thinking to themselves that even if they play well and win the match, the coach may not pick to feature during the main competition?
Personally, I don’t have any hope in the team whether it is team A or B. The outcome for me is always going to be the same.
I hope they disappoint though.

[BitBakerr1]

What impact will the over 60 English premier league players going to their respective countries for the African Cup of nations be on the English premier league.
Crucial big names like
Mo Sallah
Amad
Mbuemo
Iwobi
Chukwueze
Basset
Diouf and so many others.

For me a team like Fulham that has over theee players leaving to meet up with their national team will be impacted greatly.

I think fulham and Manchester united will be the team to suffer it more because there major players that can always create chance and score goals are going to the African cup of nation, it will really affect them and theirs nothing they can do, this may affect how some club will be signing African players, if Manchester united and fulham has a way to stop this players from going to the African cup of nations they would have done it but there's nothing they can do i believe they will be praying for there country to get disqualified early .
This African cup of nation will be an interesting one and I just pray that my country Nigeria will be able to win it since we did not qualify for the world cup let's use this one and console our self.

[Justbillywitt]

The super eagles of Nigeria's inconsistency has made people doubt their performance even if they are playing against small teams, but even if the super eagles of Nigeria don't finish as group c leader, i am sure they will finish as the runner-up of group c and qualify for the Afcon knockout stage. Nigeria fans were desperate for the super eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the world cup, but since the super eagles of Nigeria couldn't qualify for the world cup, the super eagles of Nigeria winning the Afcon could be a good way of putting a smile on their fans and making up for failing to qualify for the world cup.

What is in this group that Nigeria can't finish as group leaders? This super eagles team can win any team in Africa if they bring out their mind. You see how they played in the world cup group stages when it became very obvious that they needed to win their remaining matches to have any hope of qualifying for the world cup. If not that South Africa hold their ground, super eagles would have finished as group winners. The coach should just call players that are hungry to play for the country and the eagles will win the group and go as far as winning it. Players like Akor Adams, Osimhen, Ejuke and hungry to play for the team and with them I am confident that the eagles will do well.

[Tonimez]

The super eagles of Nigeria's inconsistency has made people doubt their performance even if they are playing against small teams, but even if the super eagles of Nigeria don't finish as group c leader, i am sure they will finish as the runner-up of group c and qualify for the Afcon knockout stage. Nigeria fans were desperate for the super eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the world cup, but since the super eagles of Nigeria couldn't qualify for the world cup, the super eagles of Nigeria winning the Afcon could be a good way of putting a smile on their fans and making up for failing to qualify for the world cup.

What is in this group that Nigeria can't finish as group leaders? This super eagles team can win any team in Africa if they bring out their mind. You see how they played in the world cup group stages when it became very obvious that they needed to win their remaining matches to have any hope of qualifying for the world cup. If not that South Africa hold their ground, super eagles would have finished as group winners. The coach should just call players that are hungry to play for the country and the eagles will win the group and go as far as winning it. Players like Akor Adams, Osimhen, Ejuke and hungry to play for the team and with them I am confident that the eagles will do well.

You're very correct. The super eagles is just like a normal Nigerian factor where they prefer the fire brigade approach when they have limited chances of proceeding in their game. Victor Osimhen is a fighter and delivers when there's no hope anymore. Don't allow anyone to paint the super eagles black because we saw how they beat Benin 4:0 to secure a place in the playoffs and continued to beat Gabon 4:1 too. Only Victor Osimhen's absence killed their last game. If they enter this tournament with the same spirit, there's no team they cannot beat. I don't even want to judge the team with their performance in this friendly game with Egypt because I didn't also expect them to fight to the extreme to win a friendly game, what if they sustain injury??

Come 23rd December, they will explain to fans what it means to be super eagles when they finally meet Tanzania. I am very optimistic and believe they could play the finals and probably lift the title.