The Super Eagles suffered a disappointing penalty shootout defeat to Morocco in their semifinal clash at the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament on Wednesday night, SportPremi reports.
Following a goalless encounter after 120 minutes of action, Nigeria missed two of their spot kicks, while the host nations scored four to seal a 4-2 win and advance to the final of the tournament where they will face Senegal, who defeated Egypt 1-0 earlier in the day.
It marked another penalty shootout heartbreak for the Super Eagles, who were also dumped out of the World Cup qualifiers through the same format.
Nigeria will play in the third-place playoff clash against Egypt on Saturday, while the final will hold on Sunday night.
First half: Goalless half in tense affair
Morocco headed into the clash with four wins from their five matches and with the majority of the home crowd behind them in the clash.
Nigeria, on the other hand, had won all of their matches so far at the tournament, setting us up for a thrilling contest in Rabat.
The game started at a fast pace and Brahim Diaz went close for the hosts inside the first 10 minutes, but his curling shot went wide.
The Super Eagles then had a great chance minutes later, but Lookman’s drive was well kept out by Yassine Bounou, as the score remained goalless.
Nigeria were forced into several mistakes as they were unable to cope with Morocco’s high press and Ayoub El Kaabi almost put them ahead, but fluffed his attempt at a spectacular in the box.
The first half ended without a goal although Morocco were the better side and had the better chances.
Second half
Nigeria had the first chance in the second half, but Raphael Onyedika blazed well wide from the edge of the box, before Stanley Nwabali denied Abde Ezzalzouli.
The Super Eagles continued to hold their forte despite some contentious calls from the center referee as the game remained without a goal.
Nwabali then denied Ezzalzouli again in the second half as the game ended goalless and needing extra-time to determine the winner.
Extra-time:
Morocco started on top and were almost in front, but Nayef Aguerd’s header hit the post after a delivery from Hakimi.
Both sides then adopted a cautious approach with penalty shootout looming, with the game ending goalless after 120 minutes of action.
Penalty Shootout
- El Aynaoui scores for Morocco
- Onuachu scores for Nigeria
- Igamane misses for Morocco
- Chukwueze misses for Nigeria
- Ben Seghir scores for Morocco
- Dele-Bashiru scores for Nigeria
- Hakimi scores for Morocco
- Onyemaechi misses for Nigeria
- En-Nesyri scores for Morocco
Morocco win the shootout 4-2 and advance to the final.
Nigeria Players Ratings:
- Nwabali – 8.8/10
A very superb performance from the Nigerian goalkeeper who kept his side in the game and also saved one spot-kick during the shootout.
- Osayi-Samuel – 7.3/10
Not a bad performance from the right-back, but could not reproduce his marauding runs against Algeria
- Ajayi – 7.3/10
Overcame an early error to produce a well-time intervention and was very effective
- Bassey – 7.9/10
Will miss the next match after picking up a caution, but was always present to nullify any threat posed by the Moroccans
- Bruno – 8.2/10
Kept golden boot leader Brahim Diaz at bay and overcame a nervy start to put in a great shift.
- Onyedika – 5.8/10
Really struggled to replace the suspended Ndidi in midfield and gave the ball away several times.
- Iwobi – 6.6/10
Was decent, but could not really impact the attack as he would like to.
- Onyeka – 6.8/10
Not a bad performance, but he could have done more in the absence of Ndidi.
- Lookman – 6.5/10
A subdued performance in attack as Nigeria struggled to create any meaningful chance.
- Osimhen – 6.0/10
Tried to make things happen, but was well defended against
- Adams – 5.1/10
It was a poor outing for the striker who lacked his usual intensity.
Substitutes
- Simon – 6.4/10
Brought on in the second half, but was unable to impact the match.
- Dele-Bashiru – 6.0/10
Not much impact, but he scored a brilliant spot-kick in the shootout.
- Onuachu – n/a
Came on too late to impact the match, but he scored his spot-kick.
- Chukwueze – n/a
Was brought on with penalty shootout looming, but produced a poor attempt which was saved by Bounou.
Key Stats
Ball Possession: Nigeria 51% – 49% Morocco
Total Shots: Nigeria 2 – 16 Morocco
Shots on target: Nigeria 1 – 5 Morocco
Pass Accuracy: Nigeria 83% – 83% Morocco
Corners: Nigeria 1 – 5 Morocco
What Next?
Nigeria fail to reach the final and will now face Egypt in the third place match.
Morocco, meanwhile progress to the final after their win and will face Senegal on Sunday in the final match of the competition.
