{"id":1563,"date":"2026-01-06T02:56:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1563"},"modified":"2026-01-06T02:56:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T02:56:59","slug":"nigeria-egypt-advance-to-afcon-quarterfinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1563","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria, Egypt advance to AFCON quarterfinals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RABAT<\/strong> \u2013 MONDAY’S round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations delivered drama, quality goals and a clearer picture of the teams moving into the quarterfinals.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria and Egypt both booked their spots with contrasting performances, showcasing attacking firepower and resilience respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Fez, Nigeria dismantled Mozambique 4\u20130 in emphatic fashion. Ademola Lookman was a standout, scoring and creating multiple chances, while Victor Osimhen netted twice to underline his status as one of Africa\u2019s elite forwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria\u2019s attacking interplay and clinical finishing highlighted their strength, though defensive organization remained solid throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This dominant display positions the Super Eagles as one of the favourites for a deep run \u2014 especially if they can maintain cohesion and avoid serious pressure from elite opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, Egypt edged past Benin 3\u20131 after extra time in a tighter contest. Marwan Attia\u2019s long-range goal opened the scoring, and although Benin equalised late, Egypt\u2019s experience shone through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defender Yasser Ibrahim\u2019s first international goal and a composed finish from Mohamed Salah \u2014 his third of the tournament \u2014 sealed the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egypt showed resilience and tactical discipline but also highlighted a reliance on individual brilliance in key moments rather than consistent fluid play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere in the knockouts, Cameroon beat South Africa 2\u20131 to reach the quarterfinals against hosts Morocco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Indomitable Lions combined defensive solidity with clever transitions, while South Africa\u2019s wastefulness in front of goal proved costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morocco, already through after a narrow 1\u20130 win over Tanzania, now host this big tie without midfielder Azzedine Ounahi due to injury, which slightly blunts their creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead to the quarterfinals, the scheduled ties are shaping up as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morocco vs Cameroon: Morocco\u2019s home advantage and technical quality give them an edge, but Cameroon\u2019s disciplined defending and counterattacks make them a real threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria vs Winner of Algeria\/DR Congo: Nigeria\u2019s potent attack could outpace either opponent; if defensive discipline holds, a semi-final berth is likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Egypt vs C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire\/Burkina Faso: Egypt\u2019s tactical nous and Salah\u2019s finishing are key, but they must avoid sloppy transitions against the physicality of Burkina Faso or the experience of C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senegal vs Mali (or equivalent fixture): Senegal have the individual stars and depth to pull through, though Mali\u2019s tactical organisation can frustrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the tournament intensifies, attacking quality and squad balance will be decisive, with Nigeria and Morocco among the best-placed teams to advance to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– CAJ News<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RABAT \u2013 MONDAY’S round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations delivered drama, quality goals and a clearer picture of the teams moving into the quarterfinals. Nigeria and Egypt both booked their spots with contrasting performances, showcasing attacking firepower and resilience respectively. In Fez, Nigeria dismantled Mozambique 4\u20130 in emphatic fashion. Ademola Lookman was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,110,13],"tags":[277],"class_list":["post-1563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-football-sports","category-sports","tag-nigeria-thrashed-mozambique-4-0"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-150x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-300x153.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-768x392.jpg","large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-1024x523.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-1536x785.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-2048x1046.jpg","post-thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"administrator","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"RABAT \u2013 MONDAY’S round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations delivered drama, quality goals and a clearer picture of the teams moving into the quarterfinals. Nigeria and Egypt both booked their spots with contrasting performances, showcasing attacking firepower and resilience respectively. In Fez, Nigeria dismantled Mozambique 4\u20130 in emphatic fashion. Ademola Lookman was […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Football","Football","Sports"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":66,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":3,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0.jpg",2560,1308,false],"medium":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-300x153.jpg",300,153,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Nigeria-beat-Mozambique-4-0-150x150.jpg",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"administrator","author_link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?author=2"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Football<\/a> Football<\/a> Sports<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1566,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563\/revisions\/1566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}