Nigeria produced a dominant display at the Fez Stadium to secure a 4–0 win over Mozambique and seal a place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles asserted their authority from the opening stages and went ahead in the 20th minute when Ademola Lookman finished clinically from close range after being teed up by Akor Adams. The early breakthrough set the tone for a one-sided contest.
Nigeria’s superiority was underlined five minutes later as Victor Osimhen pounced inside the penalty area to turn in a deflected pass from Adams, sending Eric Chelle’s side into the interval with a comfortable two-goal cushion.
The tempo remained high after the restart and Osimhen struck again almost immediately, tapping home Lookman’s delivery just two minutes into the second half to effectively put the tie beyond Mozambique’s reach.
Akor Adams rounded off an impressive all-round performance in the 75th minute, breaking clear on the counter-attack and rifling a precise finish into the top corner following another assist from Lookman to complete the rout.
The victory marked Nigeria’s 18th appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations knockout phase and extended their remarkable consistency, with the Super Eagles progressing beyond the group stage for the 16th consecutive tournament. Their last group-stage exit came in 1982.
Nigeria entered the knockout rounds with maximum points from a group that included Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda, and the emphatic nature of this win will boost confidence after previous tournaments where strong starts failed to deliver silverware.
The result also lifted Nigeria to 62 AFCON wins overall, the second-highest total in the competition’s history, behind only Egypt. With 11 goals scored so far, the Super Eagles are currently the tournament’s most prolific side and have now scored in 11 consecutive AFCON matches, their longest scoring streak.
Nigeria have reached the quarter-finals for the 12th time since the stage was introduced in 1992 and will next meet either Algeria or DR Congo, with a potential semi-final clash against hosts Morocco or Cameroon awaiting if their fine run continues.
