Here are talking points for the game.

Nwabali shootout prowess
The big frame of Nwabali stopped efforts from Egypt’s Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush to set up success in the shootout. They were two excellent stops, first with a strong hand, and the second with his feet. Egypt did put their next two past him but it was the Chippa ‘keeper elected man of the match for his heroics. It would have gone some way to making up for the disappointment of Nigeria’s penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the World Cup playoff in November and again in Wednesday’ semi-final loss to hosts Morocco.

Merits of the match
The World Cup and the Cup of Nations continue with the third-place game but the European Championship long dispensed with it. Many ask what is the point? While there was a decent crowd at Stade Mohamed V to watch two of the continent’s heavyweights, there was little edge to the contest and a raft of changes from coaches who had claim beforehand they desperately wanted to win. Is there really any point besides giving television one more match to go show?

Osimhen and the golden boot
Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen was only one goal behind Brahim Diaz of Morocco in the race for the top scorer at the Cup of Nations finals and would have had a good opportunity on Saturday to catch him up and potentially over take him. But Nigeria’s star striker did not suit up, staying on the bench throughout the 90 minutes. He had looked to pick up a knock near the end of the semi-final against Morocco and with plenty of club football ahead with Galatasaray erred on the side of caution.

Goalless draw
The scoreless tie was only the third time in 33 third place play off matches that the bronze medal game ended goalless. The first was not that long ago in 2015 when hosts Equatorial Guinea were pipped by the Democratic Republic of Congo on post match penalties and then again at the last edition where South Africa edged the Leopards following a goalless stalemate in Abidjan.

The post Chippa United goalkeeper earns Nigeria bronze medal appeared first on SportsClub.

It is a remarkable record of consistency that is better the other three protagonists who will be playing in Wednesday’s semi-final at the tournament in Morocco.

Egypt, who have been to more Cup of Nations finals than any other country plus won the tournament more times, have had 16 past semi-final appearances but that has come 27 separate editions since the first tournament in 1957, which they won.

This will be the seventh time that Senegal are in a Cup of Nations semi-finaI while for host Morocco it is a sixth time.
Getting through semi-final appearances to the final is harder with Morocco featuring in only two finals, Senegal in three, Nigeria in eight and Egypt in 10.

The first of Wednesday’s semi-final in Tangier sees Egypt and Senegal continue their recent tussles.

They played against each other in Yaounde, Cameroon in the 2021 Cup of Nations final which ended goalless after extra time and then saw Sadio Mane convert the winning kick in the post-match penalty shootout to hand Senegal their first continental title.

A month later they were paired together again in the decisive qualifying playoff for the World Cup in Qatar with Egypt winning the first leg in Cairo, courtesy of a fourth minute own goal.

The return leg in Dakar four days later saw Senegal equalise the aggregate scoreline through Hamdy Fathy’s own goal, also going in after four minutes. With the teams level on aggregate after 90 minutes, the tie had to be decided on penalties with Mohamed Salah squandering Egypt’s first kick and his Liverpool teammate Mane again blasting home the winning penalty.

Nigeria and Morocco will clash in Wednesday’s second semi-final in Rabat in a first meeting since the 2004 Cup of Nations finals in Tunisia.
Morocco beat Nigeria 1-0 in Monastir in the group competition, which also included Bafana Bafana.

There is a good omen for both in terms of beating the other in the Cup of nations tournament. When Morocco won the 1976 edition in Ethiopia they beat Nigeria twice en route to the trophy. And when Nigeria hosted in 1980 and won their first title, they edged Morocco 1-0 in the semi-final.

In the 18 past meetings between the two countries there have been eight wins for Morocco, six for Nigeria and four draws. Ther first 11 clashes between the countries all produced a winner before a series of four successive goalless draws.

The post Nigeria’s remarkable record in the AFCON semi-finals appeared first on SportsClub.

Pape Thiaw’s Senegal will face Hossam Hassan’s Egypt in the first of Wednesday’s last-four clashes, while Eric Chelle’s Nigeria take on the hosts Morocco, who are led by long-term coach Walid Regragui.

Chelle and Regragui spent their early years in France, but the notion of having ‘European’ coaches leading national teams in Africa is something that is slowly going out of the game.

It is not gone completely, 10 of the 24 sides at the Cup of Nations in Morocco arrived with coaches from Europe, but there is a growing sense that tacticians from Africa have a better feel for the game on the continent and a deeper understanding of the players.

Of the teams to make the quarter-finals, only Tom Saintfiet (Mali) and Vladimir Petkovic (Algeria) were led by non-African coaches.

There is an argument, too, for giving Belgian Saintfiet honorary African status, having spent much of the last two decades coaching on the continent.

Here is a look at the four coaches remaining in Morocco.

Eric Chelle (Nigeria)
Born in Ivory Coast to a French father and Malian mother, Chelle was raised in France but represented the Mali national team.
A centre-back in his playing days, which were spent exclusively in France, most notably at Valenciennes and Lens, he is a relative newcomer to the African scene as a coach.
He was appointed to lead Mali in 2022 and spent two years in charge before exiting the role after losing to hosts Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals of the last Cup of Nations.
He was something of a surprise pick for Nigeria in January 2025 and failed to lead them to qualification for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but has them firing in Morocco.
At 48, he is still relatively young in his coaching career, but has the chance to do something special with the Super Eagles.

Hossam Hassan (Egypt)
A legendary striker on the continent, Hassan is a former three-time winner of the Cup of Nations as a player over a remarkable 20-year period between 1986 and 2006.
That longevity on the pitch is reflected in his 177 international caps in a career that also saw him lift the Egyptian Premier League title 13 times, having played for both bitter Cairo rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek.
His 69 goals for the national team remain an Egyptian record, though it will surely soon be broken by Mohamed Salah, who now has 67, something Hassan will hope happens in this tournament.
His coaching career to date has been less successful, but this represents a chance to change that, and having led Egypt to the World Cup this year, he can now aim to lift the continental crown too.
Known for his fiery personality, the 59-year-old has mellowed to a degree and has alongside him his twin brother Ibrahim, who serves as the technical director of the national team.

Walid Regragui (Morocco)
The coach who will forever be remembered for taking Morocco to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, Regragui can now cement his legacy with a first Cup of Nations title for the country in 50 years.
He is not universally popular, however, and has critics in Morocco who feel he does not get the best out of the talent at his disposal, though that assessment does seem harsh.
The 50-year-old was born in France and is a former right-back who enjoyed a solid career, playing 44 times for the Morocco national team between 2001 and 2009.
He was runner-up at the 2004 Cup of Nations as a player, giving him his own reasons for wanting to go one better this time around.
Apart from a brief spell in Qatar, all his coaching experience has been in Morocco, including six years spent at FUS Rabat.
He also led Wydad Casablanca to the CAF Champions League title before taking over as national team coach in August 2022, just ahead of the Qatar World Cup.

Pape Thiaw (Senegal)
The youngest and least experienced of the four coaches in the semi-finals, Thiaw has tasted continental success before after leading his country to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) title in 2022, a national team competition for home-based players.
He was born in Dakar but spent his modest playing career as a forward with clubs in France, Switzerland, Spain and Russia.
Thiaw had a brief spell with the national team, though it was a productive one, scoring five goals in 16 caps between 2001 and 2003, and was part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup.
He spent three years in charge of Niarry Tally in Senegal, a team owned by a biscuit company, before being asked to lead the country’s CHAN team.
He took over the reins of the senior side from the legendary Aliou Cissé in December 2024 and has guided Senegal to the World Cup later this year.
Rather than seeking a high-profile European coach, and there would have been plenty of interest given the profile of the team, Senegal opted for a local option, and it is so far paying dividends.

The post African coaches to the fore as AFCON semi-final line-up has continental flavour appeared first on SportsClub.

Their two goals in Saturday’s 2-0 quarter-final victory over Algeria in Marrakech lifted their tournament tally to 14, only two shy of the record that the Ivory Coast set in 2008.

Nigeria scored eight goals in finishing top of Group C and then added four more in a one-sided win over Mozambique in the round of 16 in Fes.

The Ivorians netted their 16 goals in six matches in 2008 when they finished in fourth place.

Zambia’s 15 goal haul in the1996 finals in South Africa was the record before that and was matched by Egypt in 2008 and 2010 when the Pharaohs emerged winners on both occasions in Ghana and then Angola.

At this year’s tournament, the other semi-finalists Senegal have 11 goals and Egypt and Morocco have scored nine goals in their five matches each played to date.

Most goals scored in a single Africa Cup of Nations finals
16 – Ivory Coast (2008)
15 – Zambia (1996), Egypt (2008 and 2010)
14 – Zaire (1974), Morocco (2004), Cameroon (2008 and 2021), Nigeria (2025)

The post Nigeria close in on new record at 2025 AFCON appeared first on SportsClub.

Egypt also booked their place in the semi-finals with a 3-2 victory over defending champions Ivory Coast and will clash with Senegal in another mouth-watering tie.

Osimhen steered home a long cross from the left by Bruno Onyemaechi two minutes into the second half as Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane made a bizarre jump to try and stop the effort but ended up getting his angles wrong and conceding an easy goal.

Adams increased Nigeria’s lead 10 minutes later as Osimhen unselfishly fed him the ball and he took it round Zidane before placing it into an empty net.

It was an impressive performance by Nigeria, who two months ago missed out on World Cup qualification, as they overwhelmed their opponents from the start at the Grand Stade de Marrakech, looking more determined, quicker around the field and stronger in the challenges, and denying their opponents a single scoring chance.

“The victory was deserved. The match was fantastic, and I am very happy with the win,” said Nigeria coach Eric Chelle.

Nigeria, who have reached the last four 17 times in the last 20 tournaments they have qualified for, will take on Morocco in Rabat in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph.

Centre back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semi-final meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.

An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.

Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.

But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.

Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.

The Ivory Coast, who had 70% of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.

The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.

Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.

An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.

The post Nigeria, Egypt power into Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals appeared first on SportsClub.

Egypt made heavy work of disposing of Benin, needing extra time to win 3-1 in Agadir on Monday, but for Nigeria it was a much more comfortable task as they thrashed Mozambique 4-0 at a rainy Fes.

Victor Osimhen scored twice as Nigeria’s dominance was near total, with Ademola Lookman scoring the opening goal and producing three assists to drive his side into the quarter-final, where they now meet either Algeria or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Akor Adams got the other goal.

The scoreline was the biggest margin of victory at the tournament in Morocco and could easily have been doubled had Nigeria not spurned easy chances.

Mozambique had never previously qualified for the knockout stages at the Cup of Nations and looked overwhelmed by the power and speed of their opponents.

Nigeria had the ball in the net as early as the second minute as Osimhen swept home Frank Onyeka’s cross but was clearly offside.

It took another 18 minutes before the opening goal came with Lookman placing a powerful side-footed shot into the net from Adams’ pull-back.

Osimhen then made it 2-0 in the 25th minute with an easy touch-in at the back post after Lookman had driven a pass across the face of goal.

The third goal, two minutes after halftime, was almost identical, although Lookman had the fortune of a rebound falling his way before passing to Osimhen to get a touch ahead of the Mozambique defence.

Adams’ effort in the 75th minute was the best of the goals, a thrashing shot from a tight angle as he was fed the ball by Lookman.

Lookman and Osimhen, both past winners of the African Footballer of the Year award, now each have three goals in the tournament.

Mozambique’s sole chance came in the 24th minute as Geny Catamo fed in a pass for fellow striker Faizal Bangal to run onto, but he was quickly swept up by the chasing Nigeria defence.

Nigeria now move from Fes to Marrakech, where they will meet for Saturday’s quarter-final. Algeria and DR Congo play in Rabat on Tuesday.

Mozambique had won their first Cup of Nations tie in their sixth tournament appearance when they beat Gabon 3-2 in the group phase to go through to the knockout stage as one of the four best third-placed finishers.

Yasser Ibrahim’s superb header and Mohamed Salah’s breakaway strike earned record seven-time champions Egypt a hard-fought 3-1 extra-time victory over Benin earlier on Monday.

Egypt led after 69 minutes through a brilliant 25-metre strike from Marwan Attia, but Benin forced the game into an additional 30 minutes when they equalised late on through Jodel Dossou.

Defender Ibrahim scored his first international goal in the 97th minute when he met Attia’s cross with a header from 15 yards that looped into the top corner of the net, and Salah raced clear to add the third with the last kick of the game.

Benin’s energy and never-say-die spirit stood up well to Egypt’s more composed artistry.

Omar Marmoush was put through one-on-one with Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou but delayed his shot too long and the gloveman was able to make the save at his feet.

Egypt went closer when Marmoush poked the loose ball goalwards but defender Yohan Roche cleared the ball off the line.

Egypt finally broke the deadlock when the ball came to Attia outside the box and he curled his shot into the top corner.

Benin equalised with eight minutes remaining in normal time though and there was a touch of good fortune about it.

Junior Olaitan’s cross from the right took a wicked deflection off Ahmed Fatouh and although Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy made a superb save, Dossou bundled the ball over the line from close range.

After Ibrahim had restored Egypt’s advantage, Salah raced clear in the 124th minute and produced a typically composed finish as he beat the back-pedalling keeper from 25 metres.

Egypt will face defending champions Ivory Coast or Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals in Agadir on Saturday.

The post Heavyweights Egypt and Nigeria seal AFCON quarter-final places appeared first on SportsClub.

The Moroccan defender won this prestigious award ahead of Liverpool star Mohamed Salah and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen.

Pyramids FC beat the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, and Stellenbosch FC to the Club of the Year award.

The Moroccan U20 national team was named the Men’s National Team of the Year, ahead of Bafana Bafana, Algeria, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia.

Othmane Maamma fended off competition from Orlando Pirates captain Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Queens Park Rangers defender Tylon Smith to win the Young Player of the Year award.

Meanwhile, Yassine Bounou walked away with the Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, beating Bafana Bafana and Mamelodi Sundowns captain Ronwen Williams to the award.

Here is the full list of winners:

Men’s Player of the Year: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)
Women’s Player of the Year: Ghizlane Chebbak (Morocco)
Men’s Coach of the Year: Bubista (Cape Verde)
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Yassine Bounou
Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Chiamaka Nnadozie
Men’s Interclub of the Year: Fiston Mayele
Men’s Club of the Year: Pyramids FC
Men’s National Team of the Year: Morocco U20
Women’s National Team of the Year: Nigeria
Young Men’s Player of the Year: Othmane Maamma (Morocco)
CAF Goal of the Year: Clement Mzizie (Young Africans)
Women’s Referee of the Year: Samirah Nabadda (Uganda)
Women’s Assistant Referee of the Year: Tabara Mbodji (Senegal)
Men’s Referee of the Year: Omar Abdulkadir (Somalia)
Men’s Assistant Referee of the Year: Liban Abdoulrazack (Djibouti)

The post Achraf Hakimi crowned CAF Player of the Year appeared first on SportsClub.

South Africa maintain their unbeaten streak at home following their 1-1 draw against the Super Eagles at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday.

The win sees Bafana remain at the top of Group C with 17 points from eight games, while Nigeria dropped to third place on 11 points from eight matches.

Broos’ men will take on Zimbabwe in their next qualifier in October, one win away from securing their place at the World Cup.

“It was a match like I expected, physical match much harder from the opponent, it’s only in the second half when they tried to win the game with power football, but we did a very good game also,” Broos told SABC Sport after the game.

“We had the power in our teams also, we fought for it and I said before the game we will try to win but if it’s a draw then I’m happy also and I’m happy.

“The only thing I said this afternoon also on the pre-match meeting, I said if you can’t win with good football you have to do it with fighting and this is what they did. They fought in the second half for every ball, every metre and there were guys that were really dead but still they sprint.

“But I always said this is a group who wants to go to the World Cup and today was a crucial game. It was a draw- Nigeria stay on six points, it’s up to us now to win one game than we have qualified.”

The post “We had the power in our team” – Broos appeared first on SportsClub.

South Africa opened the scoring in the 25th minute when William Troost-Ekong found the back of his own net.

The Super Eagles managed to level matters in the 44th minute when Calvin Bassey headed the ball home as the match ended 1-1 in Bloemfontein.

The win sees Bafana remain at the top of Group C with 17 points from eight games, while Nigeria dropped to third place on 11 points from eight matches.

Here is an image gallery of this encounter:

The post Gallery: Bafana hold Nigeria in Bloem appeared first on SportsClub.

South Africa took the lead in the 25th minute when Mohau Nkota played a low cross into the area, where William Troost-Ekong deflected the ball into the back of his own net to make it 1-0.

⚽️ 𝔽𝕀𝔽𝔸 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕃𝔻 ℂ𝕌ℙ ℚ𝕌𝔸𝕃𝕀𝔽𝕀𝔼ℝ𝕊 ⚽️

🥅 ⒼⓄⒶⓁ: Bafana Bafana benefit from Nigeria's defensive error!

🇿🇦 1⃣➖0⃣ 🇳🇬

🚨 LIVE
📺 SABC 2
🌐 https://t.co/26PdrPrnVE#SABCSportFootball #FIFAWCQ pic.twitter.com/KzRQrIosmm

— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) September 9, 2025

William Troost-Ekong turned the ball into his own net.

The Super Eagles managed to draw the game level in the 44th minute when Calvin Bassey headed the ball home after latching on to a cross from Tom Dele-Bashiru.

⚽️ 𝔽𝕀𝔽𝔸 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕃𝔻 ℂ𝕌ℙ ℚ𝕌𝔸𝕃𝕀𝔽𝕀𝔼ℝ𝕊 ⚽️

🥅 ⒼⓄⒶⓁ: Nigeria have equalized!

🇿🇦 1⃣➖1⃣ 🇳🇬

🚨 LIVE
📺 SABC 2
🌐 https://t.co/26PdrPrnVE#SABCSportFootball #FIFAWCQ pic.twitter.com/bdUky0qgSu

— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) September 9, 2025

Neither side could find the back of the net as the game ended 1-1 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

The post Bafana edge closer to WC qualification after Nigeria draw appeared first on SportsClub.