The chase for a fourth AFCON title by the Super Eagles will continue beyond 2026 after they fell short against Morocco in Rabat last night, Soccernet.ng reports.
The host nation had the lion’s share of possession and the most chances, with Nigeria’s only attempt coming from Ademola Lookman in the first half.
Stanley Nwabali was called into action several times at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah, but he kept Nigeria in the game, into extra-time and into the penalty shootout.
Nwabali denied Hamza Igamane from twelve yards, but poor penalties from Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi sealed a third-place clash against Egypt for Eric Chelle’s side.
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Takeaways from Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 loss to Morocco
After a frustrating performance against the host nation, Soccernet.ng highlights major talking points from the Atlas Lions’ win over the Super Eagles.
1. Calvin Bassey: A colossal performance
After rocky spells with Rangers and Ajax at club level, Bassey found his feet in Fulham and has matured not just into one of the finest centre-backs in England but in the World.
Bassey won every duel he went into against Morocco, while facing strikers who were taller than he is. Still, he remained focused.
His ability on the ball cannot be overstated either. Although Nigeria kept a clean sheet, the situation would’ve been worse if Bassey had not been on the pitch. The former Leicester City defender will be a big miss for Eric Chelle in Nigeria’s third-place game against Egypt.
2. Bruno Onyemaechi and Osayi-Samuel were solid
After the first ten minutes, it was clear that Nigeria would not be able to outrun the Moroccan players. Onyemaechi had to deal with Brahim Diaz and Achraf Hakimi on the left flank, while Bright Osayi-Samuel had to deal with Abde Ezzalzouli and Nassir Mazraoui on the right side.
The full-backs knew they had to keep the flanks tight to prevent the Moroccans from whipping in crosses, and for 120 minutes, did just that. Neither Hakimi nor Brahim Diaz were able to muster an attempt on target.
3. Eric Chelle’s in-game ineptitude resurfaces
Without a doubt, the Franco-Malian tactician has changed the Super Eagles’ pattern of play. Under him, there’s a clear philosophy and attacking plan, but Chelle’s bane is his in-game management.
The Moroccans knew Iwobi was Nigeria’s passing outlet, and Regragui’s approach to countering the threat was to keep at least two players on the Fulham midfielder whenever he was on the ball.
Iwobi did get a few passes out, but not enough to create anything solid on the night. Before the game against Morocco, the former Arsenal man averaged 15 line-breaking passes per AFCON 2025 game, but tonight, could only muster three.
Still, Chelle didn’t make any moves or substitutions to change Nigeria’s approach. As such, they played deep for 90 minutes and had just one chance on goal.
To add, Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a poor outing against DR Congo in the penalty shoot-out, and not much changed almost two months later in Morocco.
4. Terrible refereeing performance
There’s no excuse for the bad performance the Super Eagles displayed against Morocco, but the referee in charge of the game, Ghana’s Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea, was opposed to allowing Nigeria have a bit of free-flowing football.
The 38-year-old CAF official made a series of abysmal foul calls, the most ridiculous being Calvin Bassey’s yellow card for a foul on Brahim Diaz, when in truth, the Moroccan winger pulled Bassey’s shirt.
It didn’t end there. There were free kicks that should’ve gone Nigeria’s way that didn’t, but were turned in Morocco’s favour.
Had a competent referee been in charge of the game, the outcome of the game might have been changed, but the ref had a bias, and such performances should be punished.
5. Samuel Chukwueze’s bizarre penalty kick
Morocco’s goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, has a track record when it comes to penalty shoot-outs. The 34-year-old has single-handedly won trophies in Spain, the Europa League and in Saudi Arabia due to his penalty-stopping heroics.
Chukwueze, who’s played against the former Sevilla goalkeeper five times before tonight during his time with Villareal, strolled casually to take a tame penalty, the worst attempt on the night.
Players can be excused for missing from twelve yards depending on how they approached the penalty, but the body language of the Fulham winger was poor.
Chukwueze didn’t miss the penalty when the ball was saved by Bounou, or when it was kicked. He’d lost the penalty when he walked up to take it in the first place.
