Nigeria at AFCON 2025: Lookman, Iwobi impress in opener; Osimhen, Nwabali don't

Nigeria showed the strengths that could take them all the way in this Africa Cup of Nations, but also the frailties that could see them make an early exit as they claimed a 2-1 win over Tanzania on Tuesday night in Fes.

Semi Ajayi finished off a corner kick routine with a powerful header from Alex Iwobi's cross, and Ademola Lookman won it with an emphatic finish after Tanzania had pulled one back.

Nigeria looked strong in attack -- they created a multitude of chances, had a goal ruled off for offside by the tiniest of margins and scored twice. On the other hand, their defensive fragility was on full display, and it was exploited at least twice by Tanzania, who should have had more than one goal.

In the end, it was a winning start to life for Nigeria at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco, and the three points are what matters for a team that will aim to finish top of the table so as to plot the best route towards the final.

Here is what we took from the game:

Slow start, but history tells us that's okay

There are many who will be unhappy about the manner of the result, expecting that Nigeria should have run roughshod over Tanzania, and that is not an unreasonable expectation considering the on-paper strengths of the two squads.

However, there is plenty of precedent to show that starting a tournament like a house on fire is no guarantee that it will end with lifting the trophy at the end. Austin Eguavoen's 2021 vintage, for instance, ruthlessly cleaved their way through the opposition in the group stages, only to fall at the first knockout test against Tunisia, who incidentally, were one of the best third placed finishers.

On the other hand, Ivory Coast went from being on the verge of elimination at the last tournament -- coach having been fired -- to end up being crowned champions. In 2013, Nigeria were in a similar situation after two draws against Burkina Faso and Zambia but squeaked their way into the next round and ended up champions.

Chelle appears to have settled on a starting XI

It was going to be instructive to see what team coach Eric Sekou Chelle picked to start this game, especially with all the new faces that he had called up for this tournament.

In the end, there were no surprises. This was essentially the same XI that played against DR Congo sans the missing Benjamin Fredrick, and Akor Adams for Frank Onyeka; and the same that clobbered Gabon minus, again, Fredrick.

For this tournament, and barring injuries, this would appear to be Chelle's preferred lineup. If there are to be any changes, it may be at full back positions where Ryan Alebiosu might get a chance to displace Bright Osayi-Samuel. Bruno Oyemaechi could stake a claim at left back, but he does not appear to be a superior option to Zaidu Sanusi.

Youngsters Tochukwu Nnadi and Ebenezer Akinsanmiro would need to provide an X-factor off the bench to shake off the current personnel. Moses Simon, meanwhile, came on and instantly sparked the offence into life and that should be a warning sign for Samuel Chukwueze -- but it also could be the kick up the backside the Fulham winger needed to step his game up.

Lookman in the mood offsets Osimhen off day

It was not just about his goal, even though that provided more than ample evidence, but more about the way he played that showed that Ademola Lookman is back, or at least getting close to the form that helped propel him to the African Player of the Year award.

On a day when Victor Osimhen did not look at his best, Lookman did exactly what fans had been asking of the support cast in attack. The Atalanta forward dropped into spaces between the lines, drove at the defence, received vertical balls from Iwobi, was quick to hit shots and caused the Tanzania defence all sorts of trouble.

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Was Victor Osimhen justified with his reaction to being substituted?

Colin Udoh explains why Eric Chelle was right to bring star striker Victor Osimhen off in Nigeria's win over Tanzania.

When a Nigeria defensive brain fart allowed Tanzania to haul themselves back in the game, it was Lookman who popped up, turned his markers inside out after picking up an Iwobi pass, and rifled a left-footed shot that ultimately proved to be the winner.

With Lookman in this the kind of form (and mood) that had been missing for a while with the national team, and Akor Adams having a very good game (he really should have had a goal as reward), this triumvirate up-front could pose real problems in the tournament if they click together.

Defensive issues, and the Nwabali problem

Losing William Troost-Ekong, Ola Aina and the emerging Benjamin Fredrick was always going to be a lot to manage for the Super Eagles defence. Bright Osayi Samuel is not exactly Aina, and even Fredrick has shown that he can be better. In a perfect world, both Aina and Fredrick would be starting for Nigeria ahead of Sanusi and Osayi-Samuel, with Calvin Bassey and Semi Ajayi at centreback.

But those fullback positions were an issue all game long. They were caught lagging behind an unreasonable number of times, offered little going forward and Sanusi was guilty of letting Charles M'Mombwa get behind him for the equalizer. These deficiencies could be targeted by teams down the line in the crunch matches.

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1:02

Dove: I'm not concerned about Nigeria's defence

Ed Dove believes there was a lot of positives to take away from Nigeria's defensive performance.

Behind the defensive line, Stanley Nwabali was poor in his reactions for the goal Nigeria conceded. While it was a defensive error from Sanusi that allowed M'Mombwa to get behind him, Nwabali had all the time in the world to come off his line cut the ball off. Instead, for some inexplicable reasons, he stayed rooted to his line, only reacted when it was way too late, then tried to call for offside. As good a goalkeeper as he can be, these are the sort of errors that have popped up in recent games and led to calls for replacements. Those calls will crank up a bit now.

Iwobi and Akor stand out

Man of the Match went to Semi Ajayi officially, but the real standout for Nigeria was Fulham's Alex Iwobi, with Akor Adams not far behind. The midfielder not only looked up for it, but was the most influential player on the field, and Akor was only slightly less impressive.

Iwobi's passing was impeccable, landing balls with accuracy and precision. He was everywhere on the pitch, demanding, receiving and distributing the ball with imperious confidence. And when Lookman dropped into those between-the-lines spaces, Iwobi had the vision to see and locate him.

Both goals were off his assists, and in truth, he could have had more. For a player who is so criminally underrated and underappreciated, Iwobi again showed how much of a difference-maker he is for the national teams.

Adams, meanwhile, was an ubiquitous, mesmerizing presence across the final third. But for the length of a toenail that saw Osimhen's goal off his pass annulled, he could have got an assist.

If this team are to go as far as they have promised to, Iwobi and Adams will be two underrated players who would be required to continue to play at this level, and maybe even better.