AFCON 2025: Gusau Hails Eagles’ Performance in S’final, Urges Team to go for the Bronze    

Duro Ikhazuagbe in Casablanca

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)  who also doubles as President of WAFU B, Ibrahim Musa Gusau (MON), has called on the Super Eagles to put the narrow defeat the team suffered against hosts Morocco in Wednesday night’s semi final of the AFCON 2025 behind and go all out to win the Third-placed bronze match with Egypt in Casablanca on Saturday.

Super Eagles were unfortunate to have lost 2-4 in penalty shootouts to the Atlas Lions inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat with 65,458 home fans all in red jerseys rooting for the hosts team in Rabat. Regulation and extra time had deadlocked goalless before that shootouts in which Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi lost their spot kicks.

Speaking yesterday in Casablanca, President Gusau said: “It is important to retain focus by not continuing to dwell on what happened in the semi final match.

“As far as we are concerned, the team coped well in the circumstances, navigating a number of challenges and playing their game. Penalty shootouts remain lotteries in the game and it could have gone either way. Two years ago, we won our semi-final match of the AFCON after a penalty shootout. This time, it was not meant to be,” observed Gusau.

He stressed that the federation was proud of the sheer commitment, sense of purpose, passion, discipline, patriotic fervour and resilience of the Super Eagles.

“The NFF is proud of the output of the team at this championship. Super Eagles  gave their best and still remain the team to have scored the most goals here. We will talk to the players to pick up their morale and go for the bronze so that they will have something from a tournament in which they have done so well.”

On his part, billionaire industrialist and philanthropist, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, GCON (Chairman of BUA Group), extolled the spirit and sense of purpose of the team, and insisted that despite the loss, he would go ahead and fulfill his pledge of $500,000 to the players and officials.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles left Morocco’s administrative capital, Rabat for Casablanca (venue of their bronze-medal match with Egypt) yesterday afternoon.

The team had a light training session in Casablanca on Thursday evening.

Friday’s training session will be the official training, with media representatives allowed access for the opening 15 minutes.