Tuesday Jan 13, 2026. 14:54
Nigeria will be looking to end Morocco’s dream of winning the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title when the two former winners meet in Rabat on Wednesday.
Kick-off is at 10:00 pm CAT.
The semi-final match will take place at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which was built in two years, potentially granting it the Guinness World Record for the fastest stadium construction in the world.
The Super Eagles booked their place in the last four after securing a 2-0 victory over Algeria in a quarter-final match on January 10, extending their unbeaten run to five matches across all competitions, which consists of five successive victories.
The win kept Nigeria’s bid to win their first AFCON title since 2013 and their fourth continental trophy on track. However, the West African giants will be facing their biggest challenge yet when they take on the tournament hosts in front of almost 70,000 passionate Moroccan fans.
“Morocco is a great team, and it’s never easy to be the host country because the pressure is enormous. But at the same time, there’s a tremendous amount of work being done behind the scenes.” Nigeria’s head coach Eric Chelle said.
“Morocco’s coach (Regragui) is very good and has exceptional players. All I hope for is that we have a great match, worthy of the quality of both teams.
“Just try to put yourself in any manager’s shoes to understand the magnitude of the responsibility. It will be an open game, and may the best team win.”
Nigeria captain Wilfred Ndidi will be absent as the midfielder is suspended due to yellow card accumulation, while his teammate Bright Osayi-Samuel is an injury concern after being forced off late in the quarter-final against Algeria.
Morocco, on the other hand, reached this stage of the tournament after emerging as 2-0 winners against Cameroon on January 9 and they extended their unbeaten run to 25 matches across all competitions under coach Walid Regragui.
The victory over five-time African champions Cameroon has surely boosted the Atlas Lions’ confidence as the team bids to end an almost 40-year wait for their second AFCON title, having finished second in the 2004 edition and third in the 1980 tournament.
“We spent a lot of energy in the first half [against Cameroon], we were all over the field. But in the second half we fell back, so there are things that can be improved,” Morocco head coach Walid Regragui said.
“We need to just keep going one game at a time. We have not done anything yet. It is historic. Moroccans have not seen their team in the semi-finals of an AFCON for 22 years.
“They deserve it but we need to keep our feet on the ground and make it even more historic.”
Morocco have no injury concerns or suspensions reported for the crucial match against Nigeria, which means Regragui has a full-strength squad available, as things stand.
Nigeria and Morocco have met 11 times across all competitions since their maiden meeting in September 1969.
The Atlas Lions have the edge in this rivalry, winning six matches, compared to the Super Eagles’ four victories and one game ended in a draw.
The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 4-0 win in favour of Morocco in the 2018 CHAN final match played at the Stade Mohammed V, in February 2018.
The winner between Nigeria and Morocco will lock horns with either Senegal or Egypt in the final on January 18 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.