Nigeria vs Mozambique: Can Super Eagles Continue Perfect AFCON Start?
by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Geoffrey Ejiga
Nigeria's Perfect Start Faces Mozambique Test
Nigeria are mounting a strong title challenge in the 2025 African Cup of Nations. Despite conceding in all three group games, they went on to win all three as the only team besides Algeria.
The Super Eagles opened with a 2-1 win over Tanzania that could've ended with a bigger scoreline. Then went on to assert their dominance over Tunisia and Uganda with a 3-2 and 3-1 win, respectively.
The Tunisia victory was especially telling of Nigeria’s deadly offence, as they netted three against a Tunisia defence that just set a world record. The Eagles of Carthage were the first ever team to qualify for the World Cup without conceding a single goal.
But Nigeria got past them thrice in the space of just 23 minutes. That kind of performance is the hallmark of a winner, and that's the mood Nigeria is in as they eye their fourth AFCON title. See our experts' best picks in the Nigeria vs Mozambique prediction!
Mambas Make History, But Face Elimination Against Eagles
After 17 games in the AFCON finals, Mozambique finally have a win thanks to their 3-2 victory over Gabon. The Mambas opened their campaign and ended the group stage with defeats to Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.
But they've remained widely impressive, losing only 1-0 to the reigning champions and 2-1 to Cameroon, which might've ended much differently but for a conceded own goal.
They've essentially gone toe-to-toe with some of the best African nations today, and come out defeated but not battered. Mozambique knows Nigeria are the heavy favourite to win as online betting sites suggest. But they enter with the confidence of record breakers and a team that can hold its own against the big dogs.
Still, beating last edition’s runners-up in the kind of form they're in is a very tall order for The Mambas. Mozambique have conceded five goals so far, but managed to net four. They'll need to ramp up those numbers in front of goal and tighten things at the back if they hope to make it out against the Super Eagles.
If successful, Mozambique can realistically hold the 2013 champions to a 120-minute draw in hopes of settling things on penalties, where team quality matters much less.
Nigeria vs Mozambique: Key Players to Watch For
For Mozambique, finding solutions to Nigeria's frontline will be of utmost priority. The Super Eagles will likely start Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Samuel Chukwueze (or Akor Adams) up front.
The former are, in fact, two of the last three African Player of the Year award winners, and they haven't disappointed one bit in this tournament. Ademola Lookman has arguably been the best player of the 2025 AFCON so far, and is SofaScore’s highest-rated performer of the tournament.
Lookman is the joint leader in goals + assists (4) alongside Brahim Díaz, Lyle Foster, and Sadio Mane. The difference is that Lookman has played two fewer games than all three players.
Yet, Mozambique has its own weapon against Nigeria in the form of Sporting CP’s Geny Catamo. His goal and assist against Gabon are more or less the reason why The Mambas are even here.
He also scored the opener against Cameroon, which gave them a fighting chance down to the last whistle. Catamo now has four goals and one assist in his last four games for club and country, making him a potential threat to Nigeria, who have conceded four goals in three AFCON games already.
