Overview:
Nigeria versus Egypt third place match will be played on Saturday, 17th January 2026 in Casablanca. The final will be held on Sunday, 18th January 2026 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat city.
AFCON 2025:
- Gold medal match: Senegal Vs Morocco (Sunday, 18th January 2026) – Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium, Rabat
- Bronze medal match: Egypt Vs Nigeria (Saturday, 17th January 2026) – Casablanca Stadium
The head coach of Nigeria Super Eagles Eric Chelle Sekou was visibly crestfallen as he addressed the media in the official pre-match press-conference.
The French national who was born in Mali hailed the fighting spirit of his players in the 4-2 post match penalty semi-final loss to the hosts Morocco.
“The team was in a great state of mind. I am super proud of the players. We fought for every ball and the fighting spirit was evident” he spoke to the fully packed press conference moments after the game.
Morocco outshot Nigeria 4-2 in post match penalties following a grueling goal-less draw in 120 minutes of football.
Nigeria will now face Egypt in Saturday’s bronze medal match that shall be played in Casablanca city.
“We have the third place play-off match to play against Egypt and we need to win that. The journey continues” he added.
Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced a man of the match performance with two penalty saves from Samuel Chimerenka Chukwueze and Bruno Sopuruchukwu Onyemaechi.
Neil El Aynaoui, Ben Eliesse Seghir, captain Achraf Hakimi and Youssef En Nesyri scored for Morocco to send the fully packed crowd into excitement.
Only substitutes Paul Onuachu and Fisayo Bashiru scored for the Super Eagles.
Hamza Igamane had his shot saved by Nigerian goalkeeper Stlanley Nwabali.
“It was a very tricky game to play the hosts with all those fans backing up them. Again, we lost so many balls in play, we could have done better” Chelle bemoaned.
The final will be held on Sunday, 18th January 2026 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat city.
Morocco’s road to the final:
- Morocco 2-0 Comoros (Group A)
- Morocco 1-1 Mali (Group A)
- Zambia 0-3 Morocco (Group A)
- Tanzania 0-1 Morocco (Round of 16)
- Cameroon 0-2 Morocco (Quarter-final)
- Nigeria 0 (2) – 0 (4) Morocco (Semi-final)
Senegal’s road to the final:
- Senegal 3-0 Botswana (Group D)
- Senegal 1-1 Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – Group D
- Benin 0-3 Senegal (Group D)
- Senegal 3-1 Sudan (Round of 16)
- Mali 0-1 Senegal (Quarter final)
- Senegal 1-0 Egypt (Semi-final)