Nigeria’s Super Eagles defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalities in the third-place match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Completesports.com’s ADEBOYE AMOSU appraises the performance of the players in the game…
Stanley Nwabali 8/10
The hero for the Super Eagles on the night. The Chippa United goalkeeper saved twice in the shootout.
Bright Osayi-Samuel 7/10
Another impressive performance from the right-back. He was replaced by Alex Iwobi after sustaining an injury.
Semi Ajayi 7/10
Kept things tight at the back in the absence of the suspended Calvin Bassey. He left the pitch injured late in the game.
Igoh Ogbu 7/10
Took the place of Calvin Bassey. The Slavia Prague star formed a good understanding with Semi Ajayi.
Bruno Onyemaechi 7/10
An excellent display from the energetic defender. Onyemaechi has made the left -back position his own.
Read Also:AFCON 2025: Nwabali Named MOTM in Super Eagles’ Win Over Egypt
Raphael Onyedika 7/10
An improved performance from the defensive midfielder. He will however need to work more on his passing.
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru 7/10
The Lazio playmaker missed Nigeria’s first penalty in the shootout. Dele-Bashiru gave a good account of himself in the game.
Samuel Chukwueze 7/10
He started the game very well but fizzled out afterwards.Chidera Ejuke took his place late on.
Adams Akor 7/10
Akor has gradually become an important player for the Super Eagles. Gave Nigeria the lead in the shootout.
Moses Simon 7/10
The Paris FC winger worked hard in the game. Kept his cool to score in the shootout
Paul Onuachu 6/10
He had a goal ruled out for offside in the first half. The striker was replaced by Ademola Lookman after the break.
Substitutes
Ademola Lookman 6/10
Made a huge impact after replacing Paul Onuachu. He scored the decisive goal for Nigeria in the shootout.
Alex Iwobi 5/10
Took the place of Bright Osayi-Samuel in the 65th minute, and immediately made his impact felt.
Chidera Ejuke N/A
A late replacement for Samuel Chukwueze.
Chidozie Awaziem N/A
He came in for Semi Ajayi late in the game.
2 Comments
Congratulations to all true fans of S.E. As other countries are building we too dont hv to rest till we return to the submit of world football where we once belong ( 5th ranking by FIFA) . In this regards there are some players I feel hv played themselves out of Eagles and should never be called up again. We need an SE that will hv like for like replacement for every position. So the following players hv no business being in that team again wasting space.
(1) Anuachu
(2) Moses Simon
(3) Chukweze
(4) Onyedika
There is no tIme to waste. Every one is not an SE material. We cannot be keeping players on the bench thinking we hv a bench and when the need arises we bring in a replacement only to find that its a disappointment. It doesn’t matter the league. A good player can be found any way. Imagine how Freddrick came in and dovetail with our defence as if he has been playing for years. Thats the level we need. Chelle should stay but go in thorough search for Osihmen deputy, Nididi deputy and the quality wingers. Chukweze and simon are finished. Another player that i think will fit into this chelle’s Diamond midfield is Ihenacho.. pls lets try him and see .. He is a good passer of the ball to compliment iwobi . He can play at the tip of the Diamond while lukeman pairs Osihmen in attack. For now,we are cover in defence, goal keeping and partially attack. Midfield is our
What an impressive way to end the tournament!
The Eric Chelle led team has shown remarkable growth, winning the AFCON third place against the Pharaohs of Egypt.
What’s more, to think that in the outgoing tournament, the Nigerian side squared up against the North African top four – Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt and emerged victorious in 3 and maintained a respectable goalless at full time against tournament favourite and host nation is indeed a massive result worthy of celebration.
Kudos to the manager and his technical crew, who gave us a compact team to be proud of. In just about a year he has led the team, he’s reinvented the team, making a superstar of players like Bright Osayi Samuel and Bruno Onyemeachi whom many have expressed worries and concerns about prior to the tournament. He’s worked out a tactic to transform the team’s midfield which over the years has received many knocks. The tournament has seen the rebirth of Alex Iwobi, producing inch perfect passes with standout performances that drew wild applause and comparison to great midfield players like Pirlo and Iniesta. We became the nightmare of great teams we once dreaded with trio of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Alor Adams with the team’s most number of goals, the highest goalscoring team at this tournament with 14 goals, two shy of the most goals scored at any single tournament at AFCON.
To imagine that two of the team’s quality defenders, Ola Aina and Frederick Benjamin were absent at this competition, speaks about the depth of quality in this team.
The possibility of adding the young sensation forward, Rafiu Durosinmi who’s just joined Serie A Pisa to the present strike force is a clear indication to the threat that this squad present.
This is arguably the best Super Eagles side I have seen in more than two decades.
Great job, Eric Chelle.
Next AFCON surely would be GOLD by God’s Grace!