AFCON: Super Eagles Tackle Mozambique Today

<h4>&NewLine;AFCON<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<h4><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will continue their quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title this Monday as they face Mozambique in the round of 16 at the Fez Stadium&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Victory will secure the Super Eagles’ 12th quarter-final appearance&comma; extending their record for last-eight finishes ahead of Egypt&comma; while Mozambique will make their debut at this stage after reaching the knockout phase for the first time in six attempts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The two sides have met five times across all competitions&comma; with Nigeria undefeated against the Mambas&comma; winning four and drawing one&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Their only previous AFCON meeting came in 2010&comma; a 3–0 group stage victory featuring a Peter Odemwingie brace and an Obafemi Martins strike&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>More recently&comma; Nigeria edged Mozambique 3–2 in a friendly in October 2023&comma; with Terem Moffi&comma; Frank Onyeka and Moses Simon on the scoresheet&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Nigeria entered the knockout stage on the back of a flawless group performance&comma; winning all three matches against Tanzania&comma; Tunisia and <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;punchng&period;com&sol;">Uganda<&sol;a>&period; They scored eight goals in the group phase&comma; their highest tally in an AFCON group stage&comma; and conceded four&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Their total of 61 AFCON wins now sits just behind Egypt’s 62&comma; while their record of scoring in 10 consecutive tournament matches remains intact&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Key performers for the Super Eagles include Ademola Lookman&comma; who has scored twice and provided two assists so far&comma; earning a spot in the group stage Best XI&period; Forward Victor Osimhen&comma; who has 32 goals in 49 appearances for Nigeria&comma; is expected to spearhead the attack&comma; supported by captain Wilfred Ndidi and midfielders Alex Iwobi and Raphael Onyedika&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Lookman reflected on the team’s strong showing in the group stage&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Yeah&comma; we had a great run in the group stage&comma; and I am thankful to all who voted&period; The selection is not just for me&comma; but for my entire teammates&comma; because their efforts on the pitch contributed to my selection&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;However&comma; this is not the vision for our team&period; We have set targets to accomplish here in Morocco&comma; and we are nowhere near our targets yet&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Mozambique entered the knockout phase having claimed their first-ever AFCON finals win against Gabon in the group stage&period; They also scored against Cameroon in their final group match but lost 2–1&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The squad&comma; led by captain Domingues and coached by Chiquinho Conde&comma; will rely on defenders Nené&comma; Bruno Langa and Reinildo Mandava&comma; while Chamito&comma; Faisal Bangal and João Bonde spearhead their attacking efforts&period; Geny Catamo has already scored in back-to-back AFCON matches&comma; becoming the first Mozambican to achieve this feat&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Cameroonian official Abdou Abdel Mefir has been appointed referee for the match&comma; assisted by compatriots Elvis Noupoue and Carine Atezambong&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;