Nigeria’s Super Eagles will face the Desert Warriors of Algeria in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after the North African country defeated DR Congo 1-0 in their last 16 clash in Rabat on Tuesday.
It would be a high-profile match between the football giants, as Nigeria seeks revenge for the brutal knockout in the semifinals of the 2019 AFCON at the hands of the Algerians, courtesy of a late free-kick strike by Riyad Mahrez.
Tuesday’s match went to extra time after neither Algeria nor DR Congo scored in the regular minutes. However, Adil Boulbina fired the ball from the box edge into the top of the net just before the end of extra time to send Algeria into the quarterfinals.
Both teams had major chances to find the net during regulation time, but impressive saves from the two goalkeepers, Lionel Mpasi-Nzau of Congo and Algeria’s Luca Zidane, who is the son of football legend Zinedine Zidane, denied the opposing side from scoring.
The Eagles will be hoping to get their house in order ahead of the match against Algeria at the January 10 match in Marrakech, following a now-settled fallout between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman during Nigeria’s round of 16 win against Mozambique on Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the team’s media officer, Promise Efoghe, said, “The primary reasons and aftermath of the on-the-field remonstration between two of our players during the game against Mozambique have been nipped internally.”
