Femi Azeez tonight announced his arrival on the Super Eagles stage in sensational fashion when he struck twice on his debut to lift the team past Zimbabwe 2-0 and into the final of the 2026 Unity Cup in South London.
Le deuxième but de Femi Azeez pour sa première avec le Nigeria ! 😤🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/rqfwsegyTS
— Naija Football 🇳🇬 (@NaijaFootball_) May 26, 2026
They will now face the winners of tomorrow’s second semifinal between Jamaica and India in Saturday’s final of this invitational tournament.
For both goals, the Millwall winger was set up by captain-on-the day Terem Moffi.
The opening goal was after only five minutes of action when he fired home from the top of the box after he was teed up by the hard-working Moffi.
Azeez then doubled Nigeria’s lead on 63 minutes, when unselfish Moffi darted down the left flank before he cut back for the winger to finish off a fine team play from inside the box.
This experimental Super Eagles proved on the night that they have something to offer besides the deserved victory as they played with so much confidence and zest that it would be difficult to believe that the squad only enjoyed two full training sessions.
Debutants goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, Enugu Rangers fullbacks Obinna Igboke and Chibueze Oputa as well as Chibuike Nwaiwu and Philip Otele justified their selection as coach Eric Chelle begins to rebuild ahead of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers beginning September.
Altogether, there were seven players who made their Super Eagles debut on the night.
It was a heart-warming display by this rag-tag team against the Warriors of Zimbabwe, who paraded several top stars including captain Marvelous Nakamba and Marshal Munetsi and had made life uncomfortable for the main Super Eagles in two 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Zimbabwe major undoing was the final ball as they chased the game particularly in the second half, but failed to find the finish.
Super Eagles vs Zimbabwe (4-3-3)
Arthur Okonkwo – Igboke, Oputa, Nwaiwu, Ogbu – Nnadi, Yusuf, Samson Tijani (Owen Oseni 77) – Otele (Oyedokun 77), Moffi (Captain) (Durosinmi 66), Azeez
