PICTURE this: You’re up 3-0 with fifteen minutes to go. You’re practically booking your hotel for the Round of 16. The champagne is on ice. And then Tunisia – bless their relentless hearts – decide they didn’t get the memo about lying down gracefully.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles spent Saturday night in Fez proving that no lead is truly safe when you’re determined to give your fans premature grey hair. After Ademola Lookman orchestrated a footballing symphony that had Tunisia spinning like a Moroccan pottery wheel, Eric Chelle’s men appeared destined for a comfortable cruise to the knockout stages.
Lookman, the 2024 CAF African Player of the Year who clearly took that award as a challenge rather than a coronation, was utterly unplayable. Two assists and a goal – the man was conducting a one-man masterclass. Victor Osimhen rose like a salmon heading upstream to nod home the opener just before halftime, because apparently aerial dominance is his love language.
Captain Wilfred Ndidi then decided that defenders should also get in on the heading action, nodding in a Lookman corner four minutes after the restart. When Lookman himself rifled home a thunderbolt in the 66th minute after an Osimhen cut-back, Tunisia looked down and out. Finished. Cooked. Done and dusted.
Except – and here’s where Nigerian football gets properly Nigerian – Tunisia had other ideas.
Montassar Talbi pulled one back from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick in the 75th minute, and suddenly the North Africans remembered they were supposed to be playing football, not attending a funeral. Then VAR, that most delightful of party poopers, spotted a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. Ali Abdi absolutely leathered the penalty into the roof of the net, and we had ourselves a proper barnburner.
The final minutes were pure chaos. Captain Ferjani Sassi came agonizingly close to completing the comeback, his header drifting inches wide in stoppage time. Nigeria held on, but not before several supporters likely aged a decade or three.
“It would be nice to finish a match without having to suffer so much,” coach Chelle admitted afterward, in what must be the understatement of the tournament. Welcome to Nigerian football, sir. Suffering is part of the package.
Nigeria top Group C with six points and a spot in the Round of 16. Tunisia, sitting on three points, will need results to go their way. But honestly, after that comeback attempt, they’ve earned everyone’s respect—and probably a stiff drink.
The East African Derby: A penalty, a miss, and a whole lot of “What If?”
If you enjoy watching grown men miss golden opportunities and immediately contemplate every life decision that led them to that moment, boy, did Uganda versus Tanzania deliver.
This East African derby in Rabat had everything: passion, intensity, crossbar-rattling shots, and Allan Okello’s stoppage-time penalty that decided it preferred the International Space Station to the back of the net.
Uganda dominated much of the first half. Rodgers Mato’s header crashed against the woodwork with such force you could hear it in Kampala. Dennis Onyango, the veteran goalkeeper who got the nod after sitting out the opener, was performing heroics between the sticks like he’d turned back the clock a decade.
Then Tanzania struck. Simon Msuva coolly converted a penalty in the 58th minute after Alhassan Baba was adjudged to have handled inside the box. For ten glorious minutes, the Taifa Stars were flying high.
But Karl Ikpeazu, introduced as a substitute, had other plans. The forward dove bravely to meet a Dennis Omedi cross, heading home to level the scores and sending the Ugandan contingent into raptures.
Deep into stoppage time, Uganda were awarded a penalty. This was it. The moment. Allan Okello versus destiny. Except destiny ducked, and the ball sailed over the bar faster than a startled flamingo.
There was still time for more drama—Onyango spilled a cross, Charles M’Mbowa had a golden chance, and somehow blazed wide. The final whistle blew on 1-1, leaving both teams with everything still to play for on the final matchday.
“I think we didn’t deserve a draw,” lamented Uganda’s Paul Put, who looked like a man who’d just watched his lottery numbers come up – except he’d forgotten to buy a ticket. “We missed a penalty which is very painful but that is a part of football.”
Indeed it is, Paul. Indeed it is.
Senegal and DR Congo: When champions collide and nobody blinks
In Tangier, two heavyweights threw punches for ninety minutes and somehow both remained standing when the final bell rang.
DR Congo took the lead through Cedric Bakambu on the hour mark, capitalising on their improved second-half showing after Senegal had dominated the opening period like they owned the place.
The Lions of Teranga had been probing, prodding, and generally making a nuisance of themselves all first half. Nicolas Jackson went close. Sadio Mane tested the keeper. Ismaila Sarr somehow contrived to volley over from close range in a moment that will haunt his dreams for weeks.
But when Bakambu pounced on a rebound after Edouard Mendy’s save, it looked like Les Leopards might snatch all three points.
Enter Mane, stage left. The veteran forward, clearly unimpressed with being behind, calmly slotted home after substitute Ibrahim Mbaye’s effort was parried. Because of course he did. When you need a goal, you call on the man who’s been there, done that, and bought the commemorative T-shirt.
The draw keeps Senegal top of the group on four points, ahead of DR Congo on goal difference. Tuesday’s final fixtures will be absolutely critical.
“One point is not too bad,” Mane reflected with the zen-like calm of someone who’s seen it all before. “The AFCON is always tough.”
Understatement of the year? Possibly. But he’s not wrong.
Benin’s Historic Moment: First dance at the AFCON ball
And now, for the feel-good story of the day: Benin finally got off the mark at AFCON with their first-ever tournament victory, defeating Botswana 1-0 in Rabat.
Yohan Roche, the left-back who endured a difficult opening match, became the hero with a 28th-minute strike that took a kind deflection before nestling in the net. Sometimes football gives you redemption wrapped in a bow, and Roche grabbed it with both hands.
“It is a source of immense pride,” Roche beamed afterward. “This goal is particularly touching for me, especially after the difficulties of the first match.”
Benin had an early goal ruled out for offside, but they kept probing. When Roche’s effort deflected past Goitseone Phoko, it wasn’t just a goal—it was a statement. A declaration. A brilliant new chapter in Beninese football history.
Botswana came close to equalizing when Mothusi Johnson’s free-kick smashed against the crossbar, but it wasn’t to be. The Zebras pushed late but lacked the cutting edge, leaving them with two defeats and their Round of 16 dreams hanging by the thinnest of threads.
Gernot Rohr, Benin’s coach, was understandably delighted: “This victory is important to us because it gives us a chance to qualify for the next round. I am happy for Yohan Roche who laughed at his mistake in the first match.”
Laughing at your mistakes and then scoring the winner? That’s the kind of character arc we can all get behind.
What’s Next?
Tuesday brings the final group stage matches, and nerves will be jangling across Morocco:
- Nigeria versus Uganda in Fez: Nigeria are through, but Uganda need a result to stay alive
- Tunisia versus Tanzania in Rabat: Both teams desperately need three points
- Senegal versus Benin in Tangier: Senegal looking to seal top spot, Benin hunting qualification
- DR Congo versus Botswana in Rabat: Les Leopards favored, but Botswana will fight to the end
AFCON 2025 continues to deliver drama, heartbreak, and moments of pure magic. Saturday’s action proved once again that in African football, you can never relax, never assume, and definitely never take a three-goal lead for granted.
Because somewhere, somehow, someone will find a way to make it interesting.
