The Federal Government of Nigeria has praised the Super Eagles for their spirited performance, despite their penalty shootout loss to Morocco in the semifinals of the 2025 AFCON on Wednesday night, SportPremi reports.
Nigeria suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Morocco in their last four clash at the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament, ending their hopes of another final appearance.
It was their 17th appearance at the semifinals, but they have only progressed to the final eight times, recording three championship wins.
Nigeria miss out on AFCON 2025 final spot
Nigeria had been very impressive at the ongoing tournament in Morocco, winning all of their first five matches and scoring the highest number of goals (14).
For context, the most goals scored at an edition of the African Cup of Nations tournament is 16 scored by Ivory Coast in the 2008 edition, while the most the Super Eagles had scored was 10 in 2000.
It was always going to be a difficult encounter against the home nation and the massive crowd at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
The match ended goalless after 120 minutes of action, with penalties needed to determine the winner of the clash.
Morocco missed only one of their attempts, while the Super Eagles missed twice – Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi missing their attempts.
- You should see this:
- Ex-international blames lack of preparation on Nigeria’s semifinal defeat to Morocco
- Osayi-Samuel commends Super Eagles despite semifinal defeat
The Atlas Lions progressed to the final, where they will face 2021 champions Senegal in Rabat on Sunday, while Nigeria and Egypt will meet in the bronze medal game on Saturday.
Sadio Mane scored the only goal of the encounter in the second semifinal clash as the Lions of Teranga continued their recent dominance over Egypt with a 1-0 win.
Words of encouragement for the Super Eagles
In a statement released on Thursday by the Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris, the Federal Government commended the hard work put in by the players at the tournament.
“Even in defeat, you showed character, teamwork, and resilience, and those qualities matter deeply to the nation you represent”, the statement read.
“Football has its highs and lows, but your effort, commitment, and fighting spirit throughout this tournament have earned the respect and gratitude of Nigerians at home and abroad.
“You reminded us that wearing the green and white is about courage, unity, and never giving up. Hold your heads high. Learn from this experience, stay united, and return stronger.
“Nigeria remains proud of you and grateful for the joy and hope you gave us during this competition. Well done, Super Eagles. The nation stands with you, always.”
Nigeria and Egypt will meet at the Stade Mohammed V Stadium on Saturday with kickoff by 5 PM in the bronze medal match of the 2025 African Cup of Nations.
