The Super Eagles said they have been left deeply pained after they failed to qualify for the final of the 2025 AFCON on the back of a penalty shootout loss to hosts Morocco.
The Super Eagles held Morocco to a scoreless AFCON semifinal in front of a packed Prince Mouley Abdellah Stadium in Rabat Wednesday night only to fall 4-2 in the eventual penalty shootout to decide the team through to the final of the tournament.
Fullback Bright Osayi-Samuel was the only Super Eagles player who spoke to the media soon after this defeat.
“It was very painful to lose, the back four was amazing, I’m proud of the team, the manager came down and said he’s proud of the team, (NFF) board members came down and said they are proud of the team
“It’s just really painful that we lost on penalties, that’s a game of lottery and today we didn’t win that.”
He was also critical of the handling of the match by Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea.
“The referee was appalling, not saying that is why we lost,” he said.
“He made very wrong decisions, it’s really painful to see that we have refs like that in big games like this.
“But I wish Morocco all the best.”
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali showed his disappointment later on X by simply posting: “Not again!!!” accompanied by a broken heart emoji.
This was obviously in reference to another penalty shootout loss the Super Eagles suffered at the hands of DR Congo in a 2026 World Cup final Playoffs also in Rabat, Morocco.
The Super Eagles will Saturday take on Egypt in the third-place match.
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