What if Nigeria’s biggest opponent in this CAN 2025 was… Nigeria itself? Impressive individually and collectively to crush Mozambique this Monday January 5 in the round of 16 (4-0), the Super Eagles have been shining since the start of the competition. Still undefeated, they have the best attack in the tournament and have always scored at least two goals per match, driven by two stars: Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.
Against the Mambas, the two men again distinguished themselves, the first scoring a double, the second scoring a goal and delivering two assists. But while everything seemed to be going well for the Nigerians, whose score advantage was 3-0 in the 47th minute, the tension rose a notch shortly after the hour mark.
Furious after Lookman twice forgot about him when he seemed well placed to score, Osimhen flew into a rage towards his teammate in the 63rd minute. After pushing away his captain Wilfred Ndidi in his attempt to calm things down, the 27-year-old striker rushed at his partner, openly reproaching him for his individualism.
Osimhen replaced and closed face on the bench
“Hey, it’s a team game,” he said several times, almost face to face with Lookman, who didn’t give up. “You’ve already scored twice,” he would have replied. A situation all the more lunar since the two goals scored by the star center forward of the Super Eagles against Mozambique came… following two assists from the 2024 African Golden Ball.
Consequence of his attitude or simple tactical choice: Osimhen was replaced five minutes after this incident. Regularly filmed by the cameras until the final whistle, the former Naples player appeared with a closed face, quickly joining the locker room without celebrating the success with his partners on the pitch.
“It will remain within the group”
“No, I didn’t see it,” Lookman commented at a press conference after receiving his man of the match trophy. “But I don’t think it really matters. The team won 4-0, he’s our best player, everyone knows that. He’s a top striker, an exceptional player, the rest doesn’t really matter.” “It’s just football, it’s my brother,” he then downplayed in the mixed zone.
But this clash could have repercussions on the rest of the Nigerian tournament. Asked about this, coach Éric Chelle assured that the problem would be resolved internally. “This question concerns my management of the team and what happened on the pitch,” he told the press. “It will remain within the group. I don’t need to tell you what happened or what’s going to happen. » Case to be continued, while Nigeria will meet Algeria or DR Congo in the quarter-finals next Saturday.
