Sports
AFCON 2025: Super Eagles Thump Mozambique 4–0 to Reach Quarter Finals
AFCON 2025: Nigeria defeats Mozambique 4–0 in Fes to reach the quarter-finals. Victor Osimhen’s brace, alongside goals from Ademola Lookman and Akor Adams, sent Nigeria into the AFCON quarter-finals.
Photo Credit: Super Eagles/Instagram
The Super Eagles are through to the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after a convincing 4–0 win over Mozambique on Monday night in Fes, a performance that felt assured from start to finish.
Nigeria set the pace early, pressing high and asking questions almost immediately. Victor Osimhen thought he had opened the scoring inside two minutes, only for the flag to go up. It didn’t take long for the breakthrough to arrive, though. In the 20th minute, Ademola Lookman found space in the box and curled home neatly from Akor Adams’ cutback, putting Nigeria in front and firmly in control.
Five minutes later, the lead doubled. Alex Iwobi drove through midfield and released Lookman down the left, and his ball across the box took a touch off Adams before Osimhen reacted quickest to turn it in from close range. Mozambique, making their first-ever appearance in the AFCON knockout stage, struggled to cope with the movement and pace, and offered little threat in response.
Any hope of a comeback was settled early in the second half. Lookman again provided the opening, sending a low pass across goal from the left for Osimhen to tap in at the back post and claim his second of the night. With the result beyond doubt, Nigeria continued to probe, and Akor Adams rounded off a fine individual display in the 75th minute, firing high into the net after yet more good work from Lookman.
Beyond the goals, the night also brought a welcome clean sheet. Mozambique failed to register a shot on target, leaving goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali largely untested, while Calvin Bassey marshalled the back line effectively. It was Nigeria’s first shutout in some time, and a timely one as the tournament reaches its latter stages.
The result stands as Nigeria’s biggest win in an AFCON knockout match since Egypt’s 4–0 semi-final victory over Algeria in 2010. For the Super Eagles, it was also their most complete showing of the competition so far. They now head to Marrakech for a quarter-final clash on Saturday against either Algeria or the Democratic Republic of Congo, with confidence growing as the tournament unfolds.
View this post on Instagram
