Nigeria’s Super Eagles delivered one of their most convincing performances of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday, overpowering Algeria 2–0 to secure a place in the semi-finals of the continental showpiece.
Okay News reports that the quarter-final clash at the Grand Stade de Marrakech was settled by a dominant second-half display from the three-time African champions, who broke down an Algerian side that had conceded just one goal before the encounter.
After a tightly contested first half, Nigeria struck within moments of the restart. Victor Osimhen rose above his markers in the 47th minute to head home a perfectly delivered cross from Bruno Onyemaechi, registering his fourth goal of the tournament and giving the Super Eagles a deserved lead.
Ten minutes later, Nigeria turned pressure into a decisive advantage. A clever outside-of-the-boot pass from Alex Iwobi split Algeria’s defence, allowing Osimhen to race through before squaring the ball across goal. Akor Adams showed great composure, rounding goalkeeper Luca Zidane and rolling the ball into an empty net to make it 2–0.
Long before the goals arrived, Nigeria had been firmly in control. The Super Eagles dictated the tempo in midfield, created chances and forced Algeria into repeated defensive emergencies, with Ramy Bensebaini making several desperate goal-line clearances to keep his side in the contest before the break.
Algeria never found a way back into the match. Despite second-half changes, including the introduction of Baghdad Bounedjah, the Desert Foxes failed to register a single shot on target as Nigeria’s defence, marshalled by Calvin Bassey, stood strong.
Iwobi continued to pull the strings from midfield, while Adams came close to adding a third when he struck the post. Wilfred Ndidi picked up a yellow card that could be a concern for the next round, but Nigeria comfortably managed the closing stages, aided by late substitutions such as Moses Simon.
The win sends Nigeria into a high-profile semi-final against tournament hosts Morocco, setting up one of the most anticipated fixtures of AFCON 2025.
