THE Super Eagles of Nigeria will face tournament hosts Morocco in a high-stakes Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 semifinal Wednesday night at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
The clash, scheduled for 8pm, pitches arguably two of the continent’s most in-form sides against each other in a bid for a place in Sunday’s final.
Nigeria come into the match on the back of a flawless run in the tournament, having won all five of their games to date, while Morocco remain unbeaten with four victories and one draw.
Under French-Malian coach Éric Chelle, the Super Eagles have displayed a blend of attacking fluency and tactical discipline that have made them one of AFCON’s most dangerous teams, having scored 14 goals in the tournament so far.
Nigeria topped Group C with a perfect nine points, beginning their campaign with a 2–1 win over Tanzania. They followed up with a 3–2 victory against Tunisia, and then saw off Uganda 3–1 to seal first place.
In the Round of 16, Nigeria delivered one of the tournament’s most emphatic performances, thrashing Mozambique 4–0. Victor Osimhen struck twice, Ademola Lookman added another, and Akor Adams capped the performance late on.
Their quarter-final encounter with Algeria was a more measured performance and decisive. Played in Marrakech amid heightened tension and concerns building up into the match, the match saw Nigeria asserted control in the both halves.
Although it was a goalless first half, Osimhen opened the scoring shortly after the restart of the second half, while Adams doubled the advantage minutes later. The scoreline ended in two to nil.That also marked the second clean sheet Super Eagles recorded with just only three goals conceded in the tournament so far.
Morocco’s home charge
Hosts Morocco have lived up to pre-tournament expectations. In their quarter-final clash against Cameroon, Morocco emerged with a 2–0 victory, with Real Madrid forward Brahim Díaz continuing his fine run by scoring yet again. Díaz has now netted in five consecutive matches, breaking his nation’s goal-scoring record for a single AFCON edition.
Morocco’s campaign has been built on defensive solidity, they have kept multiple clean sheets and have yet to concede in open play at this tournament, while leveraging set-pieces and quick transitions.
Undoubtedly, the atmosphere would be intense with thousands of home supporters behind the host team, which carry the weight of expectation from its passionate fans.
Nigeria is set to clash with the host nation, Morocco, in the semi final of the ongoing AFCON. The head-to-head shows that both sides lost and won 4 matches each and drew 1 game in 9 matches. Do you see Nigeria reaching the final? Let’s get your prediction#ICIRData pic.twitter.com/8WxeloZgce
— The ICIR Data (@icirdata) January 13, 2026
Head to head
This semifinal is the sixth AFCON meeting between Nigeria and Morocco, and the second in the semifinals, the last coming in 1980 when Nigeria went on to win the tournament.
Historically, Morocco hold the edge in head-to-head results across all competitions, though AFCON meetings have generally been closely contested.
Nigeria and Morocco first crossed paths at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1976 during the group stage, where the North Africans claimed two victories — 3–1 and 2–1 on their way to lifting their first and only continental title.
Their second meeting was in 1980 in the semi finals, when Nigeria edged Morocco 1–0, with Felix Owolabi scoring the decisive goal in the ninth minute. The two sides met again in 2000, with Nigeria eliminating Morocco in their final Group D match.
Their most recent AFCON meeting was in the 2004 group stage, where Morocco secured a 1–0 win in their opening Group D fixture, thanks to a 77th-minute strike from Youssef Hadji.
Overall, Nigeria have faced host or co-host nations ten times at the Africa Cup of Nations, recording three wins, three draws and four defeats in those encounters.
For Nigeria, Wednesday match is a chance to win their fourth AFCON. Their attacking record is noteworthy, the Super Eagles have now scored at least two goals in each of their five matches at this tournament, and their 14-goal haul is their highest in a single AFCON edition, according to CAF.
Morocco, meanwhile, are pursuing a first AFCON title since 1976 and will lean on home advantage and the form of key players like Diaz and captain Achraf Hakimi to navigate past a free-scoring Nigerian side.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M