Deja vu! - Penalties Nigeria's downfall again as their AFCON ends in heartbreak

Nigeria returned to the scene of their FIFA World Cup penalty shootout heartbreak from last November, and were once again turned back in tears after losing 4-2 to hosts Morocco in the semifinal of the African Cup of Nations.

Stanley Nwabali gave Nigeria an early advantage in the shootout when he saved from local boy Hamza Igmane, but misses from Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi meant that Youssef En-Nesyri's conversion handed the Atlas Lions progress to the Final where they will face Senegal.

It is just over eight weeks ago that the Super Eagles fell in a penalty shootout to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the FIFA World Cup Playoff Final at the same venue, losing out in sudden death after 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time.

Despite the best efforts of both teams this time, defence triumphed and there were no goals in regulation and extra time, and the game went to penalties, which the Super Eagles again succumbed to.

The outcome means that for the eighth time in 17 attempts, Nigeria fall at the semifinal hurdle, a troubling statistic for both team and country.

Ndidi absence felt

Whatever Wilfred Ndidi was thinking when he picked up that yellow card for time-wasting against Algeria, it is clear it was a bad idea. Injured and being subbed off, the Nigeria captain took his time, and got himself in the referee's book as a result.

That booking came home to roost big time against Morocca. Eric Sekou Chelle was forced to make one adjustment in his starting lineup bringing in Raphael Onyedika to start where Ndidi usually plays, in front of the defence.

That was a bit of a surprise because of the different profiles of both players, especially in relation to the tactical formation favoured by Chelle. His diamond midfield structure requires a disciplined holding midfielder at the base of the diamond.

One who can not just read and break up the play, but also be a quick-release outlet for keeping possession circulating and getting the team to progress the ball. While Ndidi is good at this, keeping the ball moving with simple passes, Onyedika is not quite at the same level. His first instinct is usually to take a couple of touches and try to dribble past a man, or two.

The Moroccans recognized this and piled on him with a double team almost each time he got the ball, and on multiple occasions, he turned the ball over, something Ndidi rarely does. The result was that Iwobi was constantly forced to drop in and help rather than be free to progress the ball, keeping Nigeria pinned in their own area for long periods and ceding midfield control to the hosts.

By the time Eric Chelle decided it was enough and took him off, sending Onyedika where he should have been all game, there was little time for the switch to have much of an impact.

Bassey joins the greats as defence proves their worth

Take a bow, Sir Calvin Bassey. What a performance. Again.

At the beginning of the tournament, the Nigeria defence was rated among the worst, especially after the group stages when they let in four goals, including to minnows Tanzania and Uganda. Before that, they entered the tournament with only two clean sheets from their previous 14 games.

But in the two previous knockout games, they showed improvement, coming up with two clean sheets. Going into the semifinal, they were expected to face their biggest test so far against the second-most lethal attack in the tournament, with the competition's highest goalscorer.

And what a test it proved to be. Brahim Díaz, Ayoub El Kaabi and Ismael Saibari tested the Nigerian back four with relentless pressure, but the Super Eagles' rearguard held firm, not only matching the Atlans Lions for pace and physicality but keeping their discipline and standing firm in the face of trickery and not a little exhibition of dark arts.

Bassey was wrongfully booked on 31 minutes for fouling Diaz, when it was the Moroccan was the guilty party with a fistful of the Fulham man's shirt. The centreback was not just reliable in defence, he was just as precise with his passing, including a number of precise diagonal balls across the field.

Onyemaechi was just as impressive, restricting the dangerous Diaz to barely one real shot of danger until the Real Madrid man was subbed off by Walid Regragui. Semi Ajayi was just as imperious. He made an early mistake, but recovered quickly to make a goalsaving tackle, and was impenetrable after. Bright Osayi-Samuel on the right let little get past him.

It was a defensive classic from the Super Eagles back four, who ensured that Stanley Nwabali had little work to do for most of the game. If there were any doubts about the ability of this back four to stand against the best, they proved it.

As for Bassey, he would stand amongst any generation of Nigerian centrebacks and comfortably hold his own. By far Nigeria's best player on the night and one of the best all tournament long. It would be a travesty if he is not named in the Team of the Tournament.

Osimhem, Lookman attack stifled

In stark contrast, Nigeria's attack, which has been the most potent at this competition and the most productive of any by the Super Eagles in AFCON history, never really got going.

In fairness, it started from the back. The three forwards need to be supplied to thrive, and when Morocco effectively severed those supply lines, there was little the front three could do. They got precious little shrift from the home defence, who sat on both Iwobi further back and stopped him from distribution, and Ademola Lookman on the rare occasion when passing scraps fell to him.

The Lions defended in numbers without the ball, always sending an extra man to double team the Nigeria attackers and press with urgency. Osimhen barely saw a sniff of the ball, and when he did, he was hunted down immediately and forced to turn it over.

Akor Adams' technical limitations showed up under intense pressing, as he lost the ball with little provocation and Lookman was not allowed to breathe. Nigeria's chances were few, very far between and smothered. It was only when Moses Simon came on and Onyedika dropped deeper, that Nigeria began to find opportunities. But not by much. The Super Eagles will take plenty of lessons from this performance. Not many teams will have the tactical nous to be able to plan for them like this, or the technical quality to execute the shut out.

Referee performance

It is hard to talk about the referee performance without a tinge of sour grapes. But it was there. Throughout the tournament, there have been complaints about refereeing performances, especially suggestions that officials were favouring Morocco. Atlas Lions coach Walid Regragui was forced to counter those claims.

Whatever the reason, some of the refereeing decisions by Ghanaian official Daniel Nii Laryea on Wednesday night were baffling, wildly inconsistent and weighed in favour of Morocco. Calvin Bassey's yellow card was an obvious example. At first glance, Diaz should have been booked for simulation at the very least. Replays showed that he was also pulling on Bassey's shirt and then held his face to simulate a hit when the defender's hand was nowhere near it.

Akor Adams was called for a foul while he was almost getting the shirt ripped from his back, and Moses Simon was bemused when he had a clear cornerkick called against him for a goalkick. These little niggly calls - and more - were just the sort that do not exactly lose a game, but make it extremely hard to win it.

Bright Osayi-Samuel held nothing back in the mixed zone - "The referee was appalling," he said. "I'm not saying that's the reason why we lost but he was making very, very wrong decisions and it's really painful to see that we have referees like that in a game like today."

Nigerians were just as miffed, and quickly found the Ghanaian referee's page on Instagram and Twitter. In less than an hour, the page had been taken down following multiple reports, and his Twitter was also taking some heat from fans.

Super Eagles must break semifinal hoodoo

There is both good and bad to be taken from this tournament. Overall, the Super Eagles put up some delightful performances at this Afcon, won five straight games, scored a team record number of goals and did not 'lose' any of their six games.

As a team, they were great, and as individuals, almost all showed immense quality and character. Making it to the last four of the Nations Cup for a joint record 17th time is a remarkable achievement, one that shows consistency. The Super Eagles have won more bronze medals (8) than any other country. That is double what the next closest country, Ivory Coast (4) have.

As commendable as this is, Nigeria must break this third-place playoff hoodoo. Egypt have been to the same number of semifinals as Nigeria and have seven titles. Cameroon have been to just 10 and have five titles, three of them at the expense of Nigeria, it must be said. Ivory Coast, with 11 appearances in the last four, have the same number of titles as Nigeria. We can go on and on. But the point here is that just making the last four should no longer be good enough for the Super Eagles.

Nigeria must start planning to actually win more Afcon titles. If CAF's decision to move the tournament to four-year cycles stands, it means that opportunities to win it will be even fewer. There are two tournaments coming in the next three years, the Super Eagles must plan to win at least one of them. And the preparation for that starts now.

Only three players in the current squad are 30 and above, Semi Ajayi (32), Cyriel Dessers (31), Muhammed Usman (31) and Moses Simon (30). Ajayi and Simon are the only two core squad members. The majority of the team, and others, should be available if in form and fit, to be selected for those two tournaments. Winning should be the objective for 2027 and 2028. Nothing else will do.