Day 27 (Tuesday, 13 January, 2026)
Super Eagles Fight The Odds
Mourinho Tips Morocco As AFCON Favourites
AS IF the odds facing Nigeria’s Super Eagles in their AFCON 2025 semi-final showdown with Morocco that I listed in my diary yesterday were not heavy enough, no less a global football personality than Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho compounded the odds further when he reportedly predicted that the host country would triumph. His prediction has been widely reported by some media in the countdown to the showdown.
Jose Mourinho’s Pre-Tournament AFCON Analysis
Mourinho cannot be taken lightly. Before the tournament even started, he had forecast the top three teams “with a real chance” of winning AFCON 2025. In a widely circulated video on social media, he did the following analysis…..
“First let me be very clear. AFCON is not about names, it’s about mentality. If you don’t suffer, you don’t win. Number One, Morocco. They are organized, disciplined, and now they believe. When a team believes, they become dangerous. They showed the world in Qatar (2022 FIFA World Cup where they reached the semifinal) they are not tourists. They are competitors.
“Number 2, Senegal. Physical power, experience, balance. They know how to win ugly games, and that is how tournaments are won. They don’t panic, they wait, then they kill the game.
“Number 3, Nigeria. Talent, too much. Speed, flair, confident, but the question is always mentality. If Nigeria stays focused and united, nobody wants to face them. AFCON is simple. The team that suffers together, lifts the trophy.”
When my friend, Moshud Bello, shared the video with me, here was my response: “Excellent analysis of the three teams. This guy (Mourinho) knows his onions and that is an understatement.”
Predictions, Pride And A Nigerian Counter-Belief
The fact that all three of Mourinho’s tips have made it through to the semifinals underscores the fact that he, indeed, knows his onions. Therefore, his latest (?) prediction that Morocco will beat Nigeria is consistent with his pre-tournament analysis that the host country is ‘Number One’ to win the trophy.
As a football analyst, I am not at Mourinho’s level by any stretch of the imagination. But I have also been correct in this diary with my Mr.ChefNigeria predictions about the four teams that would reach the semi-finals.
Where I have differed with Mr.Mourinho is on the teams that will reach the final. I have picked my country, Nigeria, and he has reportedly picked the hosts, Morocco. Wednesday night will reveal who is correct.
Focus, Unity And Chelle’s Super Eagles Mantra
But let’s examine closely again some of what Mourinho said, pre-tournament, about the Super Eagles: “If Nigeria stays focused and united, nobody wants to face them.” The keywords are “focused and united.” Well, those exactly are the two characteristics that Coach Eric Chelle and midfielder Alex Iwobi harped upon during their pre-match media conference at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Tuesday.
Also Read: AFCON 2025 Diary Day 25: Marrakech Explorations, Media Encounters And Super Eagles’ March To Rabat
Chelle spoke about focus, which has been his mantra since the start of the tournament. Iwobi spoke about unity in the team, saying what has propelled their performance in this tournament is that the players relate as family and look after each other on and off the field. With focus and unity, Nigeria will stand a good chance against Morocco then.
The Moroccan Cauldron And The Test Of Suffering
The other thing that Mourinho mentioned is that the team that will win the tournament must be “ready to suffer.” How well the Super Eagles are able to cope with the suffering that awaits them in the hands of Morocco’s 69,000 fans is what will determine their fate.
The support of those fans is what Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui, is also banking on to tilt the scale in his team’s favour. When he took the stand at the press conference after Chelle and Iwobi had departed, Regragui boasted that no opposing team can survive the cauldron atmosphere that Morocco’s fans create on their home ground.
“Our supporters will be there,” he said. “You all saw the impact that our supporters had on the Cameroun players in the quarterfinals. This is not about you playing for Borrussia Dortmund (or any big team in Europe). When you play against Morocco in our stadium and in front of our supporters, it is a different atmosphere.”
However, my observation is that Regragui was actually trying to galvanize the fans against the Super Eagles, just like he did against Cameroun. Earlier in this same tournament, he had actually criticized the Moroccan fans for their lukewarm support as his team struggled against Comoros before squeezing out a 2-0 win in their opening match, which was then followed by a tame 1-1 draw against Mali that attracted boos from a section of the stadium.
Also Read: AFCON 2025 Diary Day 24: Super Eagles Are The Real Deal, Osimhen Shows Class, Algeria Lose Grace
“We don’t need the fans if all they want to do is eat snacks at half time,” he had snapped back on that occasion. Since then, Morocco have won all their matches and the fans are beginning to believe especially following their dominant 2-0 win over Cameroun in the quarter-final. But if the Super Eagles manage to score first in the semi-final and dominate possession and territory like they have done in all their previous matches, the doubts will return amongst the Moroccan supporters. I stand by my prediction that Nigeria will triumph, despite the odds.
Mane-Salah Swan Song
BOTH of them 33 years old, all the talk is about what is set to be the last AFCON confrontation between Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Egypt’s Mohammed Salah as their two countries clash again in the first semi-final of AFCON 2025 in Tanger on Wednesday at 5.00pm. Mane was victorious the last time they met in the AFCON 2021 final in Cameroun when he scored the last kick in a penalty shootout for Senegal to become African Champions for the first time. Salah was left in tears on that occasion but now has another chance as he continues his own quest to be African Champion with Egypt.
Senegal is Number 2 on Jose Mourinho’s tips as potential winners of the AFCON 2025. It was a tough call for me, but I have thrown my hat in with the Pharaohs of Egypt to nick this semifinal. Once again, I stand by my prediction.
Cameroun Supports Nigeria!
WONDERS will never end in football. Can you imagine our eternal rivals, Cameroun, supporting Nigeria? Well, it’s all happening here in Morocco.
After the Nigeria-Morocco pre-match conference, I was approached by two journalists from Cameroun who asked for an interview which I granted. When their camera stopped rolling, my interviewer said as a parting shot: “We’re supporting Nigeria. We hope the Super Eagles will do to Morocco what our boys were unable to do: beat them!”
Wait a minute! I looked at my interviewers again. “Are you guys Camerounians or you’re just from Cameroun?,” I asked incredulously. “We’re Camerounians,” they chorused.
“You, you, you, you’re supporting Nigeria?” I asked again, pointing my fingers at them. We all burst into laughter.
Can you imagine Cameroun who have caused Nigeria the greatest pains in AFCON history (three finals, three defeats, including one at the National Stadium in Lagos) asking us to do them any favour? I wish I could tell my two friends what was in my mind. In fact, I felt like knocking them on the head! (Lol).
From the Archives by Peter Rufai
FORMER Super Eagles goalkeeper Peter Rufai recalled some memorable qualifying encounters between Nigeria and Morocco when I worked with him on his biography. In Chapter Seven of the book yet to go on sale to the public, Rufai stated…….
“Most memorable for me during this phase were some tough encounters that we had against the Atlas Lions of Morocco. We faced them twice (home and away) in the qualifying tournament for the 1984 AFCON finals in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire), and twice again (home and away) in the qualifying tournament for the 1984 Olympic Games football event in USA. All four matches ended in goalless draws! We cancelled each other out completely.
“Inevitably, both ties went into penalty shootouts. We beat them 4-3 on penalties to qualify for the AFCON and they beat us 4-3 on penalties to qualify for the Olympics. Those were some unforgettable encounters.”
Excerpt from the book, “PETER RUFAI: MY STORY” co-authored by Peter Rufai and Mumini Alao. To be released to the general public sometime in 2026. Watch out!
Nigeria vs Morocco: Head-to-Head
Nigeria-Morocco Head-to-Head in Final Competitions only (excluding qualifying matches).
• 1976 AFCON: Nigeria 1, Morocco 3 (Group stage)
• 1976 AFCON: Nigeria 1, Morocco 2 (Final stage)
• 1980 AFCON: Nigeria 1, Morocco 0 (Semi-final)
• 2000 AFCON: Nigeria 2, Morocco 0 (Group stage).
• 2004 AFCON: Nigeria 0, Morocco 1 (Group stage).
• 2014. CHAN. Nigeria 4, Morocco 3 (Group stage)
• 2018. CHAN. Nigeria 0, Morocco 4. (Group Stage).
Summary: 7 matches, Morocco 4 wins, Nigeria 3 wins, 0 draw.
Join Me On Social Media…..
Aside from my Daily Dairy, I have been uploading some videos on social media since the start of the AFCON 2025. Please subscribe and watch on the following channels and/or handles……
• YouTube: @mrchefnigeria6045; @OfficialMuminiAlao
• Instagram: @mrchefnigeria; @muminialao2002
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By Mumini Alao, in Rabat
Photos by Ganiyu Yusuf
