Morocco and Nigeria are set to renew their continental rivalry when they clash in the semi-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, marking the sixth meeting between the two sides in the history of the tournament.
The historical numbers appear to tilt slightly in Morocco’s favour, with the North Africans recording three wins compared to Nigeria’s two across their five previous AFCON encounters.
Notably, every one of those meetings produced a winner, with no match ever ending in a draw.
Wednesday’s encounter will be the first time Morocco and Nigeria meet at the Africa Cup of Nations in 22 years and only the second occasion they will face each other at the semi-final stage.
Four of their five previous meetings came during the group phase, spanning the 1976, 2000 and 2004 editions of the competition.
Their rivalry at AFCON began in 1976, when Morocco defeated Nigeria twice in the group stage with 3-1 and 2-1 victories, a campaign that ended with Morocco lifting their first and only continental title.
The two teams later crossed paths in the semi-finals of the 1980 tournament, where Nigeria secured a narrow 1-0 win courtesy of an early ninth-minute strike from Felix Olabe, a result that paved the way for the Super Eagles’ maiden AFCON triumph.
Nigeria got the better of Morocco again in the group stage of the 2000 edition, claiming a 2-0 victory through goals from Finidi George and Julius Aghahowa. Their most recent AFCON meeting came in 2004, when Morocco opened their Group D campaign with a 1-0 win, thanks to a late strike from Youssef Hadji in the 77th minute.
Morocco and Nigeria will now add another chapter to their storied rivalry when they meet on Wednesday at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 GMT and a place in the AFCON final at stake.
