Rise of a Football God

With their 2nd win of the group stage, amassing 6 points in total, Morocco secured a favorable position for themselves in their bid to make it to the knockout stage of the AFCON tournament.

But with Egypt's loss, a nation was suddenly put under pressure.

With 3 points in 2 games, Egypt's position was not secure, they had to do more to secure a spot in the knock out stage.

All eyes quickly left 26th's games though, focusing on the 27th games.

This time, all eyes were on Nigeria and Senegal.

Nigeria went first, taking on Tunisia in their 2nd group stage game.

There's a saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Eric Chelle went with a certain formation for his first game and the result went swimmingly, he didn't make any stupid changes.

The same starting XI started for this game.

As for Tunisia, they started in a regular 4-3-3 formation with Ben Said being their protector in between the posts.

Ahead of the goalkeeper was a defensive quadruple of Abdi, Talbi, Meriah, and Mathlouthi. While in midfield was the trio of Ghandri, Rafia, and Skhiri.

Further ahead in attack was the attacking trio of Saad, Jouini, and Achouri.

Against Nigeria though, this attacking trio ran against an unstoppable defensive block as soon as the referee's whistle sounded.

Nigeria's defense was as rock solid as steel, while their attack was dynamic.

In this game, Victor Osimhem played at his very best.

The striker took the game by the scruff of the neck, scoring 2 early goals in the 9th and 13th minute to sink Tunisia to a certain defeat.

Tunisia got one back in the 22nd minute, making it 2-1 but what that did was only anger the Nigerians more, making them more rampant.

Sam combined with Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman to devastating effect, dictating the tempo of the game long enough for the 3rd goal to materialize.

Who else but Samuel Moses?

Sam latched into a loose ball inside the 18-yard box in the 38th minute of the game, unleashing a powerful volley that beat the goalkeeper, entering the net to make it 3-1 in Nigeria's favor.

In the 44th minute, Victor Osimhen got his hattrick, powering a header into the net from an Alex Iwobi cross.

The first half came to an end with Nigeria winning 4-1.

The Super Eagles were imperious this tournament.

2nd half didn't go much different from expectations. Nigeria did most of the attacking, while Tunisia did more of the defending.

Against the run of play though, in the 2nd half, Tunisia scored first, Rafia, the center midfielder unleashing an absolute rocket from outside the box that beat Stanley Nwabali, powering its way into the net.

It happened in the 50th minute, stunning this stadium.

In response, just 5 minutes later, Sam did almost exactly the same thing at the other side, powering a rocket shot from 30 yards out into the net.

The accuracy on his shot was devastating, ricocheting off the bar before diving into the embrace of the net.

5-2…, it was an exciting game!

In the end, that was all there was to the game.

Sam was substituted in the 75th minute, including Victor Osimhen, giving way for Viktor Boniface who did the most of the minutes he got, lashing into an Ademola Lookman pass to score the 6th goal of the game.

The game came to an end 6-2 in Nigeria's favor.

Nigeria was in imperious goalscoring form, and the fans of the Super Eagles were absolutely loving it.

After Nigeria's game, the other focus point of 27th December soon started, Senegal's clash against DR Congo.

In this game, Senegal may not have scored as much goals as Nigeria, but they once again proved their credentials as one of the favorites of the AFCON tournament with a totally imperious performance.

The first half came to an end 1-0, the electric Ismaila Sarr getting the only goal but in the 2nd half, the boy truly exploded.

He scored 2 more goals to emulate Victor Osimhen's efforts, becoming only the 2nd player to score a hattrick in the AFCON tournament this time.

The golden boot race was already heating up.

When it came to Ivory Coast's turn, they managed to secure a narrow 2-1 win over Cameroon, securing 6 points too.

At the end of matchday 2 of the group stage, the golden boot race was already shaping up as the main contenders were now known.

With 1 assist and 4 goals, Victor Osimhen was among the leading candidates for the golden boot award. But the true leader was Ismaila Sarr.

With his brace and assist in the first game, and then today's hattrick, Ismaila Sarr now led the golden boot and golden ball race with 5 goals in 2 games!

Sam also now had 4 goals and 1 assist in 2 games.

This AFCON tournament, the offensive players were going haywire, showcasing their talent as they dazzled with impressive goalscoring performances.

With the end of matchday 2, all eyes focused on matchday 3.

(AFCON 2025:)

(Group Stage- Matchday 3 of 3:)

(Angola – Egypt)

(Date: 29th December, 2025)

…

(Zambia – Morocco)

(Date: 29th December, 2025)

…

(Zimbabwe – South Africa)

(Date: 29th December, 2025)

…

(Comoros – Mali)

(Date: 29th December, 2025)

…

(Uganda – Nigeria)

(Date: 29th December, 2025)

…

(Botswana – DR Congo)

(Date: 30th December, 2025)

…

(Tanzania – Tunisia)

(Date: 30th December, 2025)

…

(Benin – Senegal)

(Date: 30th December, 2025)

…

(Equatorial Guinea – Algeria)

(Date: 31st December, 2025)

…

(Sudan – Burkina Faso)

(Date: 31st December, 2025)

…

(Gabon – Ivory Coast)

(Date: 31st December, 2025)

…

(Mozambique – Cameroon)

(Date: 31st December, 2025)

Matchday 3 of 3 of the group stage, the penultimate games of the group stage of the 2025 AFCON tournament.

The last game that would decide which country progressed and which were eliminated, the deciding game of the group stage.

The attention across Africa honed on 29th, 30th, and 31st December, the days that would determine the joy and sorrow of millions of football fans across the continent of Africa, Nigeria included.

The preparations for the game were more intense than usual, more driven than usual, players determined to give beyond 100% on the pitch.

Like this, time moved fast and, in a jiffy, it was D-day.

It was 29th December.

Egypt started the matchday by playing their final game of the group stage against Angola, a must-win game for the Pharaohs of Egypt.