Nigeria booked their place in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in style, delivering a dominant 4–0 victory over Mozambique in Fes. From the opening whistle, the Super Eagles asserted their authority, setting the tone for a one-sided contest.
The Nigerians wasted no time testing Mozambique’s defence, with Victor Osimhen seeing an early effort ruled out for offside inside the opening two minutes. Undeterred, Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure, and their breakthrough arrived in the 20th minute. Ademola Lookman finished brilliantly, curling the ball into the net after a well-worked cutback from Akor Adams.
Just five minutes later, the lead was doubled. A flowing move through midfield, sparked by Alex Iwobi, released Lookman down the flank, and his driven ball across the box eventually found Osimhen, who made no mistake to put Nigeria firmly in control.
Mozambique, appearing in the knockout stages of AFCON for the first time, found it difficult to cope with Nigeria’s pace and movement. Their struggles continued after the break, as Osimhen struck again early in the second half, ghosting in at the back post to convert Lookman’s precise delivery from the left.
Nigeria’s attacking display was capped in the 75th minute when Akor Adams crowned an impressive performance by powering home the fourth goal, once again following excellent build-up play from Lookman.
The Super Eagles could easily have added to their tally, but the four-goal margin was more than enough to underline their credentials as title contenders. Nigeria will now turn their attention to a mouth-watering quarter-final clash in Marrakech on Saturday, where they will face either Algeria or DR Congo.
