Legendary Super Falcons striker Mercy Akide has said she was already scared when Samuel Chukwueze was about to take his penalty in the semi-final against Morocco at the AFCON 2025 in Rabat.
After 90 minutes and extra-time ended goalless, the game between the Super Eagles and Morocco was decided via penalties with the Atlas Lions winning 4-2.
Chukwueze came into the game deep in the second half of extra-time for Frank Onyeka mainly for the penalty kicks.
With the spot kick tied at 1-1, Hamza Igamane saw his effort saved by Stanley Nwabali.
Chukwueze had the opportunity to put the Super Eagles 2-1 ahead but his tame effort was well saved by Yassine Bounou, handing the advantage back to the Moroccans.
Reflecting on the penalty Miss by Chukwueze Akide, speaking on the ATHLST podcast said: “Before he took the kick, I saw him. He is a jokester, maybe because of his age. If you look at their posts on social media, he is a jokester. In that kind of situation, even though he’s been taking penalties in practice and feels he can take one, the crowd was too big for him, and you could already see it on him when he was about to take the penalty.
“Penalty takers don’t just walk like that, shift to one side, and simply pass the ball. But I’m going to say it’s nerve-wracking to take a penalty. Everybody thinks you can just kick it in; it’s not as easy as that.
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“They should not blame him. This is how the game should have played out, one team will always win. We should not crucify him; we should leave him alone. He’s not the only one who missed; the defender Bruno also missed.
“You could see it from his body movement while he was walking. I told my husband, Colin, I was scared. He showed the goalkeeper where his penalty was going. He could have put it on the opposite side. When he went for the final contact, he didn’t put his head up.
“It was not an easy ball to save, but the goalkeeper was as good as our own goalkeeper. They shouldn’t discourage him; he’s a young guy.”
