Nigeria opened their TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025 campaign on a winning note after securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Tanzania at the Fez Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Goals from Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman ensured the Super Eagles made a positive start despite a spirited challenge from Tanzania, who had briefly restored parity through Charles M’Bombwa early in the second half.
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Nigeria controlled much of the opening period and were rewarded in the 36th minute, when Ajayi rose highest to power home a brilliant header from Alex Iwobi’s delivery following a cleverly worked short corner.
Victor Osimhen had earlier seen an effort cleared off the line by Bakari Mwamnyeto as Nigeria pressed relentlessly.
The second half exploded into life immediately after the restart. Osimhen thought he had doubled Nigeria’s lead just seconds in, but his cheeky back-heel was ruled out for offside following VAR review.
Tanzania capitalised moments later when Novatus Dismas floated a precise ball over the Nigerian defence to find M’Mbowa, who slid in confidently past Stanley Nwabali to level the match.
However, Tanzania’s joy was short-lived. Just a minute later, Ademola Lookman — recently crowned CAF African Player of the Year 2024 — produced a moment of magic, cutting inside before unleashing a stunning curling strike from the edge of the box to restore Nigeria’s lead.
Tanzania pushed late for an equaliser and nearly snatched a dramatic point, but Ibrahim Hamad squandered a golden chance, blasting wide from close range with two minutes remaining.
Nigeria held firm to claim all three points, marking a confident start to their AFCON journey, while Tanzania will take positives from a brave performance despite the defeat