After a perfect three wins out of three in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) group stage, Nigeria seek to continue their momentum against Mozambique in the last 16 in Fes on Monday.
The Super Eagles will fancy their chances against the Mambas. However, Mozambique showed with a win over Gabon and strong performances in defeats to Ivory Coast and Cameroon that they can stand up to historically strong teams.
Nigeria's last Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title was in 2013 and they may feel that there are few teams better placed to win the current tournament after a strong start and with a relatively favourable round of 16 draw.
Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman have been the standout players for Éric Sékou Chelle's side. The Super Eagles have had defensive issues and Mozambique will likely rely heavily on Sporting CP winger Geny Catamo to exploit them.
Catamo scored a penalty in Mozambique's 3-2 win over Gabon and followed up with a superb strike in the 2-1 defeat to Cameroon.
The winner of this clash will face the victor between Algeria and DR Congo in the quarter-finals. If Nigeria play the Leopards, it will be a repeat of the 2026 CAF World Cup qualifying playoff tournament final, which the Super Eagles lost (meaning that DR Congo will be Africa's representative at the FIFA inter-confederation World Cup qualifying playoffs).
Key details:
Date: Monday, January 5 at 20:00 WAT (21:00 CAT, 20:00 Moroccan time, 19:00 GMT)
Venue: Fez Stadium
How to watch: The match is available on SuperSport in Nigeria and South Africa, while Channel 4 holds UK broadcast rights for the AFCON.
Team news:
Ryan Alebiosu was taken to hospital with a deep gash on his right foot sustained in Nigeria's 3-1 win over Uganda. Cyriel Dessers is another doubt, having been dealing with a thigh problem.
Expected lineups
Nigeria
LB Bruno Onyemaechi | CB Calvin Bassey | CB Igoh Ogbu | RB Bright Osayi-Samuel
CM Wilfred Ndidi | CM Raphael Onyedika
LW Moses Simon | AM Ademola Lookman | RW Alex Iwobi
Mozambique
GK Ivane Urrubal
LB Diogo Calila | CB Fernando Chamboco | CB Edmilson Dove | RB Nanani
CM Manuel Kambala | CM Nené
LW Geny Catamo | AM Elias 'Domingues' Pelembe | RW Gildo Vilanculos
Stats:
Nigeria's Ademola Lookman and South Africa's Lyle Foster were the only two AFCON players who managed two goals and two assists in the group stage.
Elias 'Domingues' Pelembe is the oldest player at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, aged 42. He is also the oldest ever outfield player in the tournament's history and the second-oldest player anywhere on the pitch. Essam El-Hadary played in goal for Egypt aged 44.
Nigeria and potential quarter-final opponents Algeria were the only two teams in the tournament to claim three wins out of three group stage fixtures.