Nigeria began their tournament in Morocco on Tuesday evening with a hard-fought win. Ademola Lookman scored the winning goal just after Tanzania had equalised.

The Super Eagles controlled much of the first half. They took the lead nine minutes before halftime when Semi Ajayi scored with a header from an Alex Iwobi corner. This corner was earned after Tanzanian defender Bakari Mwamnyeto cleared a close-range shot from Victor Osimhen off the line.

Semi Ajayi, named Man of the Match, said, “It’s an amazing feeling to score for your country. This win gives us a good start. We had a great tournament in Côte d’Ivoire, and we want to use that as a standard. Our team contributes to scoring, not just the attackers. There are positives to take from this game, but we need to fix some things to finish games better.”

Nigeria’s coach, Eric Chelle, added, “We are happy with the three points. That’s what matters most. For now, I want to focus on the positives. The second half showed that we still need to improve, especially in closing out games. We know this and will work on it.”

Tanzania’s coach, Miguel Ángel Gamondi, said, “I think Tanzania played better than expected. Nigeria had most of the ball, but we did well to stop them with our tactics. They created chances, but many came from individual skill, which wasn’t surprising. Overall, I believe we surprised many people with our performance against Nigeria.”

The Super Eagles to face Tunisia in the second group game on Saturday, 27 December (KO: 8 pm), and  Nigeria will finish their group fixtures on Tuesday, 30 December against Uganda in a 4 pm kick-off.