AFCON 2025: Sunday Oliseh sends message to Super Eagles ahead of Mozambique clash

Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh cautions Nigeria ahead of the AFCON 2025 knockout stage.

Former Nigerian international Sunday Oliseh has warned the Super Eagles that the knockout phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will demand a completely different mindset from what they displayed during the group stage.

Super Eagles will begin the knockout phase with a clash against Mozambique on Monday.

Super Eagles road to Round of 16

Nigeria cruised into the Round of 16 with a perfect record in Group C, claiming wins over Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda.

Eric Chelle’s side impressed offensively, scoring eight goals while conceding four, but Oliseh believes the margin for error has now disappeared.

What Oliseh said

Speaking on his Sunday Oliseh Global Insight Football show, the former Super Eagles captain and 1994 AFCON winner underlined the stakes involved at this stage of the tournament.

“We’re starting the round of 16. What changes here now is that if you lose, you go home,” Oliseh said.

He stressed that style must now take a back seat to efficiency and defensive responsibility.

He added, “It is no longer important how beautiful you play; what matters is the result, and that is why the Super Eagles have to make sure their priority is not conceding.”

Oliseh singled out Nigeria’s final group match against Uganda as a turning point, describing it as the team’s most complete performance so far.

“The last game the Super Eagles played, after the noise against Tunisia and how well they didn’t play against Tanzania, was the best game I’ve seen them play in a long time,” he observed.

According to the former Juventus and Ajax midfielder, the improvements were clear in the team’s structure and defensive organisation.

“The organisation was there, the change of play, the compactness, the way they were able to stop the opposition from trying to hurt us is something you don’t see in the team,” he stated.

Oliseh also offered praise for head coach Eric Chelle, acknowledging the tactical adjustments that helped Nigeria control the game against Uganda.

“Kudos to the manager. I know a lot of people have been killing this man when it was going bad, but when it’s going good, give him kudos,” he remarked.

Oliseh believed Nigeria must replicate that disciplined approach to stand a chance of progressing further.

“It’s clear that the team has better organisation, and Nigeria is going to need to play in a totally different way. Different from the first two games, but similar to the third game. Stay compact, keep the opposition from playing and then hitting them,” he concluded.