Osimhen, Adams fire Nigeria into AFCON 2025 semi-final date with Morocco

Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams scored as Nigeria advanced to the semi-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with a comfortable victory over Algeria in Marrakech.

The Super Eagles controlled the contest from the outset, dominating possession and creating the clearer chances in the first half. Adams went closest before the break, curling just over the bar eight minutes from half-time after Nigeria had carved open the Algerian defence.

Nigeria wasted little time after the restart. Osimhen broke the deadlock just 85 seconds into the second half, rising to head Bruno Onyemaechi’s deep cross down and across goal for his fourth strike of the tournament.

The lead was doubled 10 minutes later when Adams rounded goalkeeper Luca Zidane and finished calmly, following a sharp through pass from Osimhen at the end of a well-worked team move. Adams later came close to adding a third, but his header from another Osimhen cross struck the left-hand post with nine minutes remaining.

Algeria struggled to find a response as Nigeria managed the closing stages with composure to seal a deserved win.

Runners-up at the 2023 edition, Nigeria will now face hosts Morocco in the semi-finals in Rabat on Wednesday.