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RMA
AFCON 2025
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Super Eagles manager Eric Chelle has highlighted three standout players from Nigeria’s heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to hosts Morocco in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations semifinals.
Eric Chelle's men had a 100% record leading up to that point, winning all 5 games, but the semi-final clash was a close, tightly contested game that failed to see any goals in 120 minutes.
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Morocco’s veteran keeper, Yassine Bounou eventually won the shootout by saving penalties from Bruno Onyemaechi and Samuel Chukwueze.
Nigeria's midfield playmaker Alex Iwobi was blocked from controlling the tempo and finding passes between the lines, which meant star forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman struggled to get the ball.
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23:33 - 09.02.2026
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle shared two tear-jerking stories involving Victor Osimhen.
Eric Chelle reveals impressive players against Morocco
However, Chelle believes the defense kept the team alive. During a recent interview on RMC Sport's After Foot, the host suggested that Calvin Bassey was the best performer on the pitch, something Chelle disagreed with.
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"Calvin was great, you also have the left-back Bruno Onyemaechi, who was having a great game. You have the right-back Bright [Osayi-Samuel], who was also impressive,” Chelle said.
"These players may have lost, but they gave everything. The question was whether I should stick to the original game plan or try to make changes and wait for them. But I wasn’t convinced that waiting would prevent us from conceding two or three goals.”
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Reflecting on the wild atmosphere at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Chelle described it as "incredible.
"The stadium was full of spectators; it was madness. I had never experienced a match like this before; it was incredible.
"I wasn’t convinced that holding back would spare us further suffering, so we tried to press. But if you look at the match, after fifteen minutes, we couldn’t press effectively.”
Despite the loss, the individual quality of the squad stood out.
Calvin Bassey was named in the official AFCON Team of the Tournament, alongside teammates Lookman and Osimhen.