The Super Eagles advanced to the semifinal at the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco, following their impressive 2-0 win over Algeria on Saturday.
Both teams headed into the clash as the only remaining sides with a 100% record at the tournament, having recorded victories in all of their four matches so far.
Nigeria had started all of their games as the better side and this was no exception as they dominated the Algerians from the first minute.
Ademola Lookman was denied by Luca Zidane, before Rayan Ait Nouri prevented Victor Osimhen from getting on the scoresheet. Even when they eventually put the ball past the goalkeeper, Bansebaini produced a remarkable goal-line clearance to stop the ball from going in.
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However, it was a flurry of goals in the second half as Osimhen headed in two minutes after the restart, before Adams added a second few minutes later.
It was a one-sided affair as the Super Eagles also kept a clean sheet and prevented the Algerians from getting an attempt on goal in the match, as they advanced to the next round where they will face host nations Morocco.
In this article, SportPremi highlights five takeaways from the dominant performance;
1. Victor Osimhen remains Nigeria’s main man
Despite calls for the striker to be dropped after his behavior in the Round of 16 win over Mozambique, Victor Osimhen started this encounter and repaid his manager’s faith with a telling contribution. There was little show of bad blood between the talisman and his teammates and they showed remarkable understanding in the attack as well.
The jump for the first goal was superb and the awareness to play Adams in for the second showed how important the Galatasaray striker is to Nigeria’s success.
The 27-year-old now has 35 goals for the national team and is only two goals behind Rashidi Yekini’s all-time record.
2. Another clean sheet in a brilliant defensive shift
The major talking point heading into the knockout stages was how the Super Eagles failed to keep a clean sheet and had difficulties in closing out games.
They have now kept two clean sheets in their two knockout matches so far and impressively, they restricted the Algerians to only three attempts in total and none on target.
Calvin Bassey and Semi Ajayi marshaled the defence against the threat of Riyad Mahrez and his cohorts, while Stanley Nwabali was much composed in goal and was a dominant presence throughout.
3. Nigerian fullbacks turn up their performances
Bruno Onyemaechi and Bright Osayi-Samuel delivered their best performance for the national team in the 2-0 win over Algeria in the quarterfinal.
Both players excelled defensively and joined the attack when needed, making marauding runs on both flanks.
Onyemaechi was benched for Nigeria’s opener against Tanzania, but has not put a foot wrong since usurping Zaidu Sanusi in the left-back role and delivered a stunning cross for Osimhen to score the opener in the last eight tie.
Osayi-Samuel was equally impressive on the right, helping the attack and keeping Mahrez at bay in the clash.
4. Alex Iwobi remains Nigeria unsung hero
While the majority of the plaudits go to the attackers for their goalscoring impact, Alex Iwobi remains the creative point in midfield.
The playmaker once again delivered two pre-assists, although it was the second that summed up his outstanding performance in Morocco so far.
He played a wonderful pass that took out the defence to Osimhen, who squared for Adams to score the Super Eagles’ second of the game and has now played 47 defence-splicing passes so far at the tournament, more than double of any of his teammates.
5. Eric Chelle has completely transformed the Super Eagles
When he arrived as head coach in January 2025, there were doubts about his credentials to lead the Super Eagles to success.
There had been signs of improvement during the World Cup qualifiers, although Nigeria failed in their attempt to reach the showpiece event.
However, the former Mali head coach has completely transformed the team, showing his tactical brilliance and ability to adapt to any opposition.
The team now dominates matches and show remarkable understanding with each other and perhaps they could go all the way in Morocco.
