Africa Cup of Nations 2025: Another attempt for Nigeria

The Nigerian team is one of the most powerful on the continent; this is evidenced by the numerous achievements of Nigerians at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they became champions three times, won silver five times, and have another eight bronze sets. At the Africa Cup of Nations 2024, the Super Eagles were considered almost the main contender for the title, especially after the lackluster performances of many of their main competitors. But in the decisive match, failure awaited the green and whites: if in the group stage they beat the Ivorian hosts with a minimum score, now they themselves lost to them - 2:1, and were limited to only silver awards.

Meanwhile, the team, which is considered to be the main favorite before every continental competition, has never tried on gold medals in the last decade. There is no doubt that Nigerians have already missed real achievements, so they will make efforts to finally take advantage of another opportunity. If you know how Nigeria will perform at the next Cannes, visit Mostbet UZ.

The leaders of African football did not delay: in February 2024, the preliminary draw of the Africa Cup of Nations ended, and the next selection cycle began already in March. However, only eight of the lowest-ranked national teams of the continent took part in it, in order to determine the four losers who will not even get to the group stage of qualification. The Super Eagles are created to fly higher - they will immediately face the qualifying quartet, in which they will have to play six matches during the fall.

In the fall of 2024, the opponents of the Nigerians will be Benin, Libya and Rwanda. Against each of the rivals, there will be a match at home and away, and according to the results of the tournament, the two best teams will receive tickets to Morocco. The planned test does not seem unrealistic at all - on the contrary, one of the strongest teams in Africa may well win the proposed quartet, although second place would be enough for it. But future opponents should be considered in more detail.

• Benin - September 7 at home, November 11 away. The team of the neighboring country to Nigeria has never grabbed the stars from the sky - its highest achievement is the only quarter-final of Africa Cup of Nations 2019, and the last two draws, like most continental competitions, the Cheetahs missed, failing to overcome the qualification. However, from the beginning of 2023, the Beninese will be managed by Gernot Rohr - a true legend of African football. Before that, the German coached the Super Eagles for five years, and in June, as part of the selection for the World Cup, where the same teams also met in the same group, his current wards beat their more stellar former team with a score of 2:1.

• Rwanda - September 10 away, November 15 at home. Another team with which Nigerians play in both qualifications - both for the continental forum and for the world. But the Super Eagles have not met this opponent in any of the two qualifiers, and the last meeting - a goalless draw in 2018 - took place according to the regulations of the African Nations Championship, that is, without representatives of foreign clubs. It is hardly necessary to be afraid of the Rwandans: they went to Cannes only once in their history, and it happened two decades ago. On the other hand, in the selection cycle for the 2026 World Cup, they lead the sextet, in which the green and whites are still behind.

• Libya - October 11 at home and an away match four days later. Forty years ago, the Knights of the Mediterranean won the only Africa Cup of Nations silver in their history, and a decade ago they were considered a pretty strong team. However, since then, the Libyans have become significantly weaker, and after 2012, they were not in the final parts of the continental competition. There is no recent history of confrontations between these rivals, but in the selection for the 2019 Cup, the Super Eagles won both matches with a total score of 7:2.

At first glance, the quartet for the Nigerians is excellent: on paper, they should overcome the two opponents easily, and Benin does not look terrible, despite the recent defeat. However, the current form of the Super Eagles is causing some concern, because in the qualification for the World Cup, which continues in parallel, Nigeria managed only three draws in four matches. Apart from South Africa, there are no formidable opponents in their sextet, so it's time for the green and whites to get their act together if they want to achieve acceptable results.

The tournament in Morocco will take place soon - at the junction of 2025 and 2026. During this time, many things can change - in particular, the same Nigeria should work on itself, although it is possible that the star team just does not want to switch on yet, believing that the selection will pass even in a relaxed state. Here and now, predicting the winner of the future Africa Cup of Nations is not so much an analysis as an attempt to guess the future.

However, no one is preventing us from identifying teams that are capable of fighting for the highest places based on their status and capabilities. Nigeria is certainly among them, because it is historically one of the strongest African teams, and according to the regalia, it is the silver medalist of the last continental tournament. This means that before the start of the competition, the Super Eagles will be expected to reach at least the semi-finals, and fulfilling this requirement will not be considered a serious achievement.

An unequivocal minimum task for the Nigerians in Morocco will be an exit to the ⅛, because with 24 participants, the group will be relatively weak, and the format will foresee a considerable probability of passing even from the third place. As for further prospects, then objectively you should pay attention to how the grid will be formed, because the first opponent in the playoffs may well be another team with great ambitions.