Despite being the hosts of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, The Atlas Lions of Morocco enter their semi-final against Nigeria with lots of trepidation fueled by memories of four previous defeats at this stage of the competition.
Sports247 gathered that one of those defeats came when they previously hosted the competition in 1988, which makes Wednesday’s fixture scary from the point of view that history could repeat itself.
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Dramatically, the first semi-final defeat for Morocco was against Nigeria during the 1980 edition that was played in Lagos, which happens to be one of two victories the Super Eagles have over them on home soil.
The only time Morocco won an AFCON semi-final was at Tunisia 2004, but they then went on to lose the final to the host country, which is not such a comforting memory for them ahead of Wednesday’ match versus Nigeria.
Although they hold better head-to-head AFCON statistics above Nigeria, having won three of their previous five meetings in the competition’s history, the Super Eagles have won the most important clashes between them.
A preview by Tribal Football adds, “(Morocco have) featured in four previous semi-final matches at the continental championship.
“(They) emerged victorious just once, which came 22 years ago in Tunisia, where they later lost 2-1 in the final.
“On that occasion, they defeated Mali 4-0 in the semi-final, in one of the most one-sided last-four clashes the competition has seen.
“Before that, there were three semi-final defeats. They lost 1-0 to hosts and eventual champions Nigeria in 1980, and 1-0 to hosts and champions Egypt in 1986.
“They were edged 1-0 by Cameroon on home soil in 1988, with the Indomitable Lions also going on to lift the trophy, meaning all three of Morocco’s semi-final defeats came against eventual champions.”
Other statistics provided by Tribal Football ahead of Wednesday’s historic clash in Rabat are:
*Morocco and Nigeria meet at the Cup of Nations for the sixth time, with all five previous AFCON meetings producing a winner. It will be their first clash since 2004.
*They first met in 1976 in both the group stage and the second pool phase, with Morocco winning both matches (3-1 and 2-1) on their way to lifting the title.
*Nigeria won their only other semi-final meeting in 1980, triumphing 1-0 with Felix Owolabi scoring the winner in the ninth minute.
*They met again in 2000, when Nigeria eliminated Morocco in their final Group D match with a 2-0 victory, Finidi George and Julius Aghahowa scoring for the Super Eagles.
*Their last Cup of Nations meeting came in the group stage in 2004, when Morocco claimed a 1-0 win in the opening match, Youssouf Hadji scoring the only goal in the 77th minute.
*Brahim Díaz, who has scored in five successive matches, is the first Moroccan to achieve that feat at AFCON. He is now one goal shy of Ahmed Faras’ all-time Cup of Nations scoring record for Morocco.
*Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou has become the first Moroccan goalkeeper to keep four clean sheets at a Cup of Nations, also a team record for a single competition.
*Morocco have scored five set-piece goals at the 2025 tournament, more than any other team, something Nigeria will need to be wary of.
