Liverpool of England winger, Mohamed Salah and Manchester City striker, Omar Marmoush both lost penalty kicks, as they failed to help Egypt defeat Nigeria in the third place match of the 2025 Afrixa Cup of Nations, Sports247 reports.
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While both EPL stars fell short, Chippa United of South Africa goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali was the undisputed hero on Saturday evening, as he stopped two penalties to help Nigeria win a ninth AFCON bronze medal.
Nwabali pulled off shock saves from Egypt’s first two kicks and stopped both super stars from hitting yarget, following a scoreless end to regulation time in the ‘losers final.’
Without any recourse to extra time, Fikayo Dele-Bashiru lost the Super Eagles’ first kick in the subsequent shoot-out, but the next four all went in from Adams Akor, Moses Simon, Alex Iwobi and Ademola Lookman, surpassing only two scored by Egypt.
Incidentally, Iwobi and Lookman both played as substitutes in the encounter in Casablanca, while Moses Simon captained the team in the absences of Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi and Victor James Osimhen.
Dramatically, Osimhen’s replacement, Paul Ebere Onuachu had the ball in the net early in the first half, but it was cancelled, and he later got a 39th minute yellow card for his exuberance.
Also in the referee’s bad book were Simon in the 47th minute and Calvin Bassey’s replacement, Igor Ogbu, in the 87th, while Bright Osayi-Samuel bowed out with another injury in the 65th.
Sports247 reports further that Saturday’s victory means Nigeria has never lost an AFCON third place match, and the Eagles now have a record extending ninth bronze medal in the competition’s history.
