Rise of a Football God

Training, tactical drilling, more training, reset, repeat…

For the remaining days in the build-up to their epic round of 16 clash, Eric Chelle pushed his players to the ultimate level.

The fact that they were billed as one of the favorites did not mean they could become complacent, this was football.

To win, they had to take every single game serious.

From this stage on, it was knock out.

To win, they had to take every single game like it was a final because it was.

To win, they had to respect every single opponent that comes before them and play at their best, utilizing all the weapons in their repertoire to destroy them.

This was why despite their favorites billing, this team trained like hell.

Every day, they broke a good sweat, Sam leading the charge.

Having been overweight at some point of his life after ditching football for 4 years, Sam knew well the importance of hard work and working out. He led the charge for his teammates, pushing them on with his mamba mentality.

Train, train again, never stop training!

Train till the ultimate level is attained!

Train till your body hurts!

Like this, they prepared and in no time, it was D-day.

(AFCON 2025:)

(Round of 16:)

(Zimbabwe – Egypt)

(Date: 3rd January, 2026)

…

(Morocco – Mali)

(Date: 3rd January, 2026)

…

(Tunisia – Benin)

(Date: 4th January, 2026)

…

(Algeria – Ivory Coast)

(Date: 4th January, 2026)

…

(Cameroon – Tanzania)

(Date: 5th January, 2026)

…

(Nigeria – Angola)

(Date: 5th January, 2026)

…

(Botswana – Sudan)

(Date: 6th January, 2026)

…

(Senegal – Burkina Faso)

(Date: 6th January, 2026)

8 clashes, 8 games to decide the 8 teams that would progress from the round of 16 stage of the AFCON tournament to the quarter finals.

3rd January, 2026…

Zimbabwe took on Egypt, the first game of the round of 16 stage.

For this game, Egypt was the clear favorite but things didn't go exactly as planned after the game started. That was the beauty of knockout stage games in major tournaments, players and nations approach the game to die.

They would lose? Who cares?

What matters is that they'd give every single ounce of effort there on the pitch before going out with dignity and respect, that's if they lost in the end.

And that was exactly the mentality that Zimbabwe came with today.

Against the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Zimbabwe players played their best football since the AFCON tournament started, making it by far the most thrilling game of the tournament so far.

Unexpectedly, it became a clash of titans.

Against the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Zimbabweans didn't cower, coming out to meet them in the open field to play a game of pound for pound football.

Zimbabwe's bold strategy surprised Egypt and their coach. Even if it didn't, the passion and energy of the Zimbabwe players definitely did.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

They left everything out there on the pitch.

Running kilometers, chasing after the ball, chasing the Egyptians down, pressing for the ball, and launching their own attack raids, they played like they weren't against a superior team at all.

It was all mentality, and boy was it working for them.

The first half incredibly came to an end 0-0 despite all the chances that were created in this game. Salah especially was locked to just creating as they didn't give him any chances to run free at goal.

When second half started, it continued the same way, Zimbabwe playing Egypt, pushing them to the edge.

It was an intense game.

But…, Zimbabwe could not keep up that intensity for 90 minutes.

They managed 80 minutes, but those last 10 minutes, it was just too much for them. They were already past their limit, and Egypt pounced.

After being pushed all the way by their opponents who were desperate to create an upset, finally, Egypt bared its fangs in defiance.

This time, Omar Marmoush was the hero.

The Manchester City striker pounced in the 83rd minute, jumping highest and lashing into a Mohamed Salah trivela pass, heading it past the Zimbabwe goalkeeper and into the net to the despair of the Zimbabwe players.

Omar Marmoush celebrated his goal with incredible passion.

The Zimbabwe players felt deflated, all their efforts, all gone in just a moment. But they didn't give up, not yet.

There was still time!

Pushing on with that mentality, Zimbabwe attacked, desperate to get the equalizing goal as Egypt was forced to defend their lead.

Mohamed Salah was even taken off, bringing in a more defensive-minded player to help the Pharaohs of Egypt hold on to their lead.

Zimbabwe actually came close, but then, their overzealousness to score a goal left them exposed at the back.

One counter, just one was all Egypt needed to deal damage again.

After intercepting a pass, one of the Egyptian center backs quickly played a straight pass to Omar Marmoush who was the only Egyptian player up field.

"…!"

The Zimbabwe players saw the danger but it was already too late.

Taking the ball in his strides, Omar Marmoush pushed it upward, rushing after it with speed. Zimbabwe's last man in defense tried to wrestle the striker for the ball but flexing his physicality, Marmoush shoved the defender off his feet!

Egyptian fans around the stadium rose up to their feet.

And when Omar Marmoush entered the Zimbabwean 18-yard box, he cut the ball to the right, and then…

BAM!

He hit it perfectly towards the top right corner.

The goalkeeper dived, but no chance, it was a precision shot. The ball nestled into the top right corner, sending Zimbabwean fans around the world to despair and Egyptian fans around the world into a world of euphoria.

Omar Marmoush charged towards the corner flag, sliding on his knees in celebration as he pumped his fists passionately.

He won the man of the match award at the end of the game.

Egypt won the first game of the round of 16 stage, eliminating Zimbabwe and progressing to the quarter finals of the 2025 AFCON tournament.

Next up Morocco vs Mali.

…

Morocco vs Mali was a mauling.

Mali approached the game with the same give it all mentality, but against the Moroccans, they hit a brick wall. Morocco chipped in 4 goals past their opponents, allowing only a consolation goal from them.

All 4 Morocco goals were scored by 4 different players.

The hosts were playing on another level this tournament.

Mali was eliminated, Morocco progressed, and Brahim Diaz got the man of the match award.

Next up was Tunisia vs Benin, a clash of the middle weights!

…

Tunisia vs Benin was a thrilling game.

After playing out a 1-1 draw in fulltime, they went to extra time where both sides failed to score a goal, eventually going to penalties.

Tunisia won the game 4-3 over their rivals on penalties.

Tunisia progressed; Benin Republic was eliminated.

…

Next up was Algeria vs Ivory Coast, another game with a clear favorite, and yet it was the stage for the next big upset of the tournament.

Algeria stunned the reigning champions.

Having scored an early goal at just the 3rd minute of the game, Ivory Coast were seemingly cruising towards an easy victory but Algeria remained defensively disciplined for over 80 minutes, long enough to stage an unlikely comeback.

Algeria stunned Ivory Coast, scoring in the 88th and 90th minutes to eliminate the reigning champions from the tournament.

Absolute cinema!

Next up was Cameroon vs Tanzania.

…

Cameroon vs Tanzania was another tight pound for pound game, but at the end, there was a clear winner as Cameroon prevailed 2-1 over their opponents.

All 3 goals were scored in the first half.

Next up was Nigeria vs Angola.

…

Finally, the Super Eagles were to play.

After the shocker against Ivory Coast, would this be another shocking upset? Well, sit down and enjoy because the Super Eagles cooked on the night.

Sam led the game, orchestrated it, and opened it up, scoring the first goal from a crazy dribble and a beautiful curling shot in the 12th minute of the game.

The first half came to an end 1-0 in Nigeria's favor.

Second half was still all Samuel Moses.

In the 56th minute, he played a needle pass through the Angola defense for Victory Osimhen who outmuscled his markers and scored past the goalkeeper.

Sam did it again, assisting Ademola Lookman for the 3rd goal of the night.

Nigerian won 3-0 on the night.

Sam got another man of the match award for his troubles, and off to the quarter finals they marched.

Next was Botswana vs Sudan.

…

Botswana vs Sudan played a boring 0-0 draw across 90 minutes.

In extra time, it followed the same boring sequence till in the 112th minute of the match, one of the Botswana center backs rose highest, powering a header into the net from a corner kick.

Botswana won the game by the skin of their teeth, progressing.

The center back won the man of the match award.

Next and last in this stage of the tournament was Senegal vs Burkina Faso.

…

Burkina Faso didn't roll over before the giant that faced them, rather, just like Zimbabwe, they played the game of their lives against Senegal.

The first half came to an end 1-1.

And then in second half, Sadio Mane played another super sub role, scoring a brace in the 74th and 77th minute to send Senegal to the quarter finals.

Senegal won 3-1, progressing to the quarter finals.

Sadio Mane won the man of the match award.

And now, off to the quarter finals.