Nigeria began their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a hard-fought 2–1 victory over a resilient Tanzania side, as Ademola Lookman’s superb second-half strike proved decisive in Morocco.
The win extended the Super Eagles’ dominance in the fixture to nine matches unbeaten against the Taifa Stars and offered a timely response after last month’s failure to qualify for a second successive fifa world cup finals.
Éric Chelle’s side started with clear intent and almost took the lead inside the opening minutes when Akor Adams forced Tanzania goalkeeper Zuberi Foba into a sharp save from a tight angle. Moments later, the Sevilla forward came even closer, powering a header against the crossbar from close range following sustained pressure.
Tanzania briefly threatened to disrupt Nigeria’s rhythm when Simon Msuva produced an acrobatic effort that was comfortably gathered by Stanley Nwabali, but the Super Eagles continued to assert themselves. Victor Osimhen thought he had opened the scoring after rounding Foba, only for Bakari Mwamnyeto to make a crucial goal-line clearance.
