Nigeria cruise past Mozambique to reach AFCON quarter-finals

FES: Nigeria delivered a commanding display as they thrashed Mozambique 4-0 in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16 here at Fez Stadium on Monday, underlining their title credentials with a dominant performance.

Ademola Lookman was the standout performer, scoring once and providing three assists, while Victor Osimhen struck twice to lead the Super Eagles comfortably into the quarter-finals.

Akor Adams added the fourth goal as Nigeria recorded the biggest winning margin of the tournament so far.

Nigeria set the tone early and thought they had taken the lead in the second minute when Osimhen finished from close range, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.

The breakthrough eventually came in the 20th minute when Lookman fired home a powerful shot from Adams’ pull-back.

Five minutes later, Osimhen doubled the lead with a simple tap-in at the back post after Lookman delivered a dangerous low cross across the goalmouth.

Nigeria continued their dominance after the break, and Osimhen struck again just two minutes into the second half, benefiting from a rebound before finishing from close range.

Adams completed the rout in the 75th minute with an impressive strike from a tight angle, once again following intelligent play from Lookman.

Mozambique struggled to cope with Nigeria’s pace and physicality, creating just one notable chance in the first half, which was swiftly dealt with by the Nigerian defence.

Nigeria now advances to Marrakech, where they will face either Algeria or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the quarter-finals, while Mozambique’s historic AFCON run comes to an end.