2025 AFCON Semi-Finals Preview: Unbeaten Nigeria Face Hosts Morocco in Battle for Final Place

The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 reaches a thrilling stage on Wednesday as tournament favourites Nigeria take on host nation Morocco in a high-stakes semi-final in Rabat, with a place in the final on the line.

Nigeria arrive as the standout team of the tournament. The Super Eagles maintained their perfect record with a commanding 2–0 victory over Algeria in the quarter-finals, becoming the only side to win all five of their matches so far. Even more impressively, they have scored at least two goals in every game, a feat they have achieved only once before at AFCON, back in 2000.

Their attacking output has been relentless. Nigeria have scored 14 goals at AFCON 2025, their highest tally at a single edition and the most by any team since Cameroon in 2021. They have also found the net in 12 consecutive AFCON matches and are enjoying their first-ever five-match winning streak at the tournament.

Victor Osimhen has led the charge. The striker has four goals at the finals, the most by a Nigerian since Odion Ighalo in 2019, and has been directly involved in 10 goals. Crucially, Nigeria have never lost an AFCON match in which Osimhen has scored or provided an assist.

Defensively, the Super Eagles have been equally impressive. Against Algeria in the quarter-finals, they did not allow a single shot on target, while their 21 percent shot-conversion rate is the best in the competition.

Nigeria will now contest a record-extending 16th AFCON semi-final. Victory would send them into a ninth final, drawing level with Ghana, and would give them consecutive final appearances for the first time since 1988 and 1990.

Morocco, however, present a formidable challenge, especially on home soil. The Atlas Lions edged Cameroon 1–0 in the quarter-finals to reach their first AFCON semi-final since 2004, continuing a campaign built on defensive solidity and tactical discipline.

They have kept four clean sheets at AFCON 2025, their most at a single edition, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou becoming the first Moroccan to achieve that feat at the finals. This will be Morocco’s fifth AFCON semi-final and only their second on home ground after 1988.

While they have won just one of their previous four semi-finals, all three defeats came by narrow 1–0 margins, highlighting how fine the margins have been at this stage.

Up front, Brahim Díaz has been Morocco’s standout performer. With five goals, he has scored in five separate matches, a rare AFCON achievement, and now sits just one goal shy of Ahmed Faras’ all-time Moroccan AFCON record. Morocco have also been deadly from set pieces, scoring five times from dead-ball situations, more than any other team in the tournament.

A Moroccan victory would send the hosts into only their second AFCON final and their first in more than 21 years, while also making them the second successive host nation to reach the showpiece match. For Nigeria, a win would move them a step closer to a fourth continental crown and further cement their legacy as AFCON’s most consistent semi-final performers.

With Nigeria’s explosive attack set against Morocco’s disciplined organisation and home support, this semi-final promises to be a captivating contest where one moment could decide who advances to the 2025 AFCON final.