Eagles
Nigeria are bidding for a fourth TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations title and will face hosts Morocco, who are searching for their first trophy since 1976, in the semi-finals of the 2025 edition at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on Tuesday, 14 January. Kick-off is scheduled for 9pm local time (20h00 GMT).
Below is a comprehensive review of the key statistics, previous meetings and all essential information ahead of the Nigeria vs Morocco semi-final, as contained in an official release published on the CAF website on Monday.
Both sides arrive at the last four unbeaten.
Nigeria have won all five of their matches at the tournament, while Morocco have recorded four victories and one draw.
The fixture marks the sixth Africa Cup of Nations meeting between the two nations, with all five previous AFCON encounters producing a winner.
It is their first AFCON meeting in 22 years and the second time they face each other in an AFCON semi-final.
Four of their five previous AFCON meetings took place in the group stages, coming in 1976 (two matches), 2000 and 2004.
Their first AFCON meeting was in 1976 during the group stage, when Morocco won both matches, 3-1 and 2-1, on their way to their first and only continental title.
This will be their second semi-final meeting at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria won the previous semi-final clash in 1980, claiming a 1-0 victory courtesy of a Felix Owolabi goal in the ninth minute en route to lifting their first AFCON title.
They met again at the tournament in 2000, when Nigeria eliminated Morocco in their final Group D match with a 2-0 win. Finidi George and Julius Aghahowa scored the goals for the Super Eagles.
Their most recent AFCON meeting came in the 2004 group stage, where Morocco won 1-0 in their opening Group D match, with Youssef Hadji scoring in the 77th minute.
Nigeria have previously faced host or co-host nations on ten occasions at the Africa Cup of Nations, recording three wins, three draws and four defeats.
This is the second tournament in succession in which Nigeria have met the host nation, having faced Côte d’Ivoire in both the group stage and final of the 2023 edition. Nigeria won 1-0 in the group stage before losing 2-1 in the final.
Nigeria have also beaten tournament hosts in the past, defeating Mali 1-0 in the third-place match in 2002 and recording a 2-1 group-stage victory over Senegal in 1992.
Their four defeats against hosts came twice against Algeria in 1990 (group stage and final), as well as losses to Ghana in the 2008 quarter-finals and Côte d’Ivoire in the 2023 final.
They have drawn three times against host nations: against Ghana in 1978, Mali in the 2002 group stage, and Tunisia in the 2004 semi-finals, a match that ended 1-1 before Nigeria lost on penalties.
In AFCON knockout matches specifically, Nigeria have faced the hosts five times, winning only once, against Mali in the 2002 third-place match.
They have lost three times in open play – to Algeria in the 1990 final, Ghana in the 2008 quarter-finals and Côte d’Ivoire in the 2023 final – and once on penalties to Tunisia in 2004.
This semi-final represents Nigeria’s third direct knockout match against a host nation, following defeats to Tunisia on penalties in the 2004 semi-finals and Ghana in the 2008 quarter-finals.
Overall, Nigeria and Morocco have met 11 times, with Morocco holding the advantage, recording six wins to Nigeria’s three, with two draws.
Both draws ended 0-0 and came during qualification for the 1984 AFCON in the second round over two legs.
Nigeria progressed after winning a penalty shoot-out following a goalless aggregate score.
Seven of the 11 goals scored across their five AFCON meetings have come in the second half. Punch
