Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle disclosed that his team had done a lot of preparation for penalties and had chosen the best kickers for the shootout.
After a goalless 90 minutes and extra time, Nigeria took the hosts into penalties but were undone by two poor kicks, resulting in a 4-2 defeat.
Neil El Aynaoui converted first for Morocco before Paul Onuachu calmly levelled for Nigeria. The Super Eagles were briefly handed an advantage when Hamza Igamane’s effort was superbly saved by Stanley Nwabali, but Samuel Chukwueze, introduced late in extra time, failed to capitalise as his poorly struck spot-kick was kept out.
After Ben Seghir restored Morocco’s lead, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru responded for Nigeria before Achraf Hakimi once again put the hosts ahead. Bruno Onyemaechi was then denied by Yassine Bounou with Nigeria’s fourth kick, allowing Youssef En-Nesyri to seal victory and send the Atlas Lions into their first AFCON final since 2004, as they remain on course for a first continental title in 50 years.
Although his team uncharacteristically struggled in the semi-final, Chelle defended his players’ performances in both regulation time and the shoot-out.
“Normally, we play a 4-4-2 diamond, and because I felt it was difficult to apply high pressure, I put Moses in midfield and Chukwueze on for the penalty situation,” Chelle said during his post-match interview.
“We worked in every training session on penalties, and the players who took the kicks were the best performers over the past month. That is why we selected them.”
The defeat ended Nigeria’s hopes of reaching a second consecutive AFCON final, as well as their pursuit of a fourth continental title.
“The match was never easy, but the players showed a strong mental response and fought for every ball. Losing on penalties is very painful. It’s difficult because we worked hard throughout the entire tournament, but that’s football. We must continue working,” Chelle added.
“We played this match with high pressing because if you don’t press, you leave spaces and the situation becomes very complicated. From a technical point of view, we were not at the same level we showed in other matches. I don’t want to say the reason was fatigue, but the truth is that we lacked movement and power.”
Nigeria last won the AFCON in 2013 and, with eight third-place finishes at the continental championship, will now turn their attention to another third-place play-off against Egypt in Casablanca on Saturday.
