Nigeria outclassed Mozambique to set up an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final against Algeria or DR Congo.
The Super Eagles were runners-up in 2023 and, while they were always likely to beat outsiders Mozambique, this performance and their form so far in Morocco suggest they will take some stopping.
They won all three group games and were dominant in Fes on Monday, with Ademola Lookman opening the scoring, Victor Osimhen netting twice and Akor Adams also on target.
One sour note came when Osimhen and Lookman argued on the pitch as the Galatasaray striker was substituted midway through the second half.
Algeria face DR Congo on Tuesday, with the winner meeting Nigeria in the quarter-finals on Saturday in Marrakech.
Mozambique head home having reached this stage as one of the best third-placed teams, advancing from a difficult group featuring Ivory Coast and Cameroon. Their victory over Gabon — their first AFCON win in their 17th match — will go down as one of their great footballing moments.
Tamerra Griffin and Sam Joseph analyse the main talking points.
Can anyone stop Nigeria’s Osimhen-led attack?
In a squad like Nigeria’s, establishing chemistry amongst the slew of big personalities can be just as tricky as advancing through the knockout stage.
With generational talents like 2024 African Player of the Year Lookman and Osimhen, who earned the same award the year prior, that challenge is even greater. Add to that equation the quieter but equally lethal presence of Adams, and there was real potential for this front three to engage in a battle of egos that ultimately squandered their chances at success.
Did we see evidence of that as the pair were involved in a verbal confrontation before Osimhen’s withdrawal? We may not have heard the last of that situation.
Whatever the personal dynamics, the three-way partnership between Lookman, Osimhen and Adams appears to be crystallising at the perfect time, right along with the team’s general cohesion.
Against Mozambique, Adams provided two assists — one each to Lookman and Osimhen — before claiming a goal for himself, his first of the tournament.
Lookman returned the favour to Adams and assisted Osimhen’s other goal prior to that as the Super Eagles’ front three combined for all four goals.
Despite their different profiles, Lookman, Adams and Osimhen share a tenacity that forms the foundation of their collective exploits. Get the ball anywhere near them in the final third and they will give everything they have to get on the end of it
Tamerra Griffin
Is Iwobi actually Nigeria’s most important player?
Alex Iwobi was at his creative best against Mozambique (Fareed Kotb/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The two big names — Osimhen and Lookman — grabbed the headlines, but Alex Iwobi stood out once again.
The Fulham midfielder has had his ups and downs for Nigeria, with his red card in the last-16 defeat against Tunisia in 2022 a particular low point. But now he is on the international run of a lifetime.
Many of Nigeria’s moves go through the 29-year-old, who has kept the team ticking with some excellent passing ability. And against Mozambique, Iwobi kick-started the attacks for Nigeria’s first three goals with incisive through balls — in each case playing the pass before the assist.
His ball to Adams, who then set up Lookman to open the scoring in the 20th minute, was impressive, but it was surpassed by a perfectly-weighted pass from inside his own half to Lookman, which allowed the forward to put in a cross that Adams deflected to Osimhen for Nigeria’s second. Iwobi collected another pre-assist in the second half, finding Lookman out wide again and the Atalanta player crossed for Osimhen, who made no mistake.
Operating in a box-to-box role and given opportunities to be creative on the ball, Iwobi has made himself integral to the way Nigeria play and it is a far cry from his early days as a winger criticised for his lack of end product.
Sam Joseph
Are Nigeria looking like potential champions?
At some point between Nigeria’s nail-biter of a 3-2 victory over Tunisia and their 3-1 win over Uganda that should have probably been a shutout, it occurred to me that the Super Eagles might either crash out in the round of 16 or win the entire tournament.
Their performance against Mozambique offers an emphatic argument in favour of the latter. Nigeria’s ability to dominate is more dependent on their decision to lock in mentally than whatever their opponents organise against them, at least so far. They have been playing like the gifted student who has a tendency to goof off in class out of boredom as opposed to a lack of intelligence or ability, but when it’s exam time, they’re wholeheartedly committed from top to bottom.
Calvin Bassey is employing some of the most elegant defensive efforts of any centre-back in the tournament. Iwobi, as Sam describes above, is orchestrating through the midfield and imbuing their squad with a crucial sense of composure.
They have had seven different scorers so far, which does wonders for team morale but also sends a dangerous message to their opponents: who can outscore them with this kind of momentum?
Tamerra Griffin