David GOMBE
Uganda Cranes will take on Nigeria in their final Group C contest of the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday at Complex Sportif de Fes Stadium in Morocco.
Uganda Cranes need to win to progress to the round of 16 while Nigeria are into the knockout stage after managing two wins against Tanzania and Tunisia.
The Super Eagles are assured of a top finish in the group while the Cranes need to maximize points to prevail.
This will be only the second time that the two nations are facing off in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Uganda won the previous meeting 2-1 during the historic 1978 edition with Abdallah Nasur and Philip Omondi scoring for the Cranes while Martins Eyo struck for the Super Eagles in Ghana.
Uganda is unbeaten against Nigeria in the last three meetings.
The Super Eagles’ last triumph over Uganda came in March 2007 at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta when they smiled to a controversial 1-0 win thanks to a Nwankwo Kanu sole goal.
Uganda and Nigeria have also been paired together in AFCON qualifying for the 1994 and 2008 tournaments. Across those four qualifiers, Nigeria recorded two wins, Uganda one, with one draw. On both occasions, Nigeria progressed ahead of Uganda.
Their most recent meeting was an international friendly played on 20 November 2018, which ended in a goalless draw in Asaba.
Key Statistics for Uganda
· Have begun the tournament with a loss to Tunisia and a draw against Tanzania.
· Their winless run at AFCON has stretched to five matches (D2 L3).
· Last victory at AFCON was a 2-0 win over DR Congo in their opening game of the 2019 tournament.
· Have conceded in their last five AFCON matches; their last clean sheet came in their opening game in 2019.
· Their record in second group matches at AFCON reads: P6 W1 D1 L4.
· Have only won their final group game once, in 1978, with a 3-0 victory over Morocco.
· Have lost their final group games in 1968, 1974, 1976 and 2019.
· Last avoided defeat in their final group game in 2017, drawing 1-1 with Mali.
· Lost their final group game in 2019, a 2-0 defeat to Egypt.
· Failure to win will see Uganda exit AFCON for a sixth time without registering a victory, having also gone winless in 1962, 1968, 1974, 1976 and 2017.
· Progression to the next round would see them advance beyond the group stage for only the third time, after 1978 and 2019.
· Uganda’s two goals at the tournament have both been scored by substitutes: Denis Omedi against Tunisia and Uche Ikpeazu against Tanzania.
· Three of Uganda’s last five AFCON goals have been headers; two were scored in 2019, while the goal against Tanzania is the only one from open play.
· Denis Omedi has been involved in both of Uganda’s goals, scoring against Tunisia and assisting against Tanzania.
· Omedi has appeared as a substitute in both matches and has recorded a goal involvement in each.
· Allan Okello attempted five shots against Tanzania, the most by a Ugandan player in a single match at the 2025 AFCON.
· Uganda registered six shots on target against Tanzania and conceded from the only shot on target they faced.
· The six shots on target against Tanzania are the most they have managed in a single match at the tournament, while the one shot faced is the fewest; they faced six shots on target in their opening match against Tunisia.
· Uganda have conceded four goals from the seven shots on target they have faced at the tournament.
Key Stats for Nigeria
· Have won their first two group matches, defeating Tanzania and Tunisia.
· Have already qualified for the knockout stages.
· This will be Nigeria’s 16th successive appearance in the AFCON knockout rounds.
· They last failed to reach the knockout stage in 1982.
· This is the 19th time Nigeria have progressed beyond the group stage at AFCON.
· No nation has recorded as many consecutive appearances in the knockout rounds as Nigeria
· Victory over Tunisia was Nigeria’s 35th group-stage win at AFCON, achieved in their 59th group match (W35 D14 L10); only Egypt (41) have more group-stage wins.
· Have won each of their last four AFCON group matches: the final two games of the 2023 tournament (1-0 wins over Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau) and their opening two matches at the current edition.
· All four of those victories have been by a single-goal margin.
· Their last group-stage win by more than one goal was a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in 2019.
Nigeria last won five consecutive AFCON group matches when they claimed their final two games in 2004 and all three group games in 2006.
· Victory would see them win all three group matches at an AFCON for the first time since 2021.
· Nigeria have scored in each of their last nine AFCON matches; they last failed to score in their Round of 16 defeat to Tunisia in 2021.
· They have found the net in their last eight AFCON group matches, last failing to score in their final group game of the 2019 tournament, a 2-0 loss to Madagascar.
Since 2010, Nigeria have scored eight headed goals at AFCON; only Cameroon (11) and Côte d’Ivoire (10) have scored more in that period.
· Victor Osimhen scored his second AFCON goal against Tunisia; his first came at the 2023 edition against Equatorial Guinea in Nigeria’s 1-1 opening-match draw.
· Both of Osimhen’s AFCON goals have been assisted by Ademola Lookman, and both were headers.
· Osimhen has scored six goals in his last five matches in all competitions for Nigeria.
· Ademola Lookman, with one goal and two assists against Tunisia, became only the second Nigerian player since 2010 to be involved in three goals in a single AFCON match, after Odion Ighalo against Cameroon in 2019 (2 goals, 1 assist).
· Lookman has now scored five goals at AFCON.
· In nine AFCON appearances, Lookman has recorded eight goal involvements, scoring five goals and providing three assists.
· Nigeria have conceded a goal in each of their last four AFCON matches; their last clean sheet came in a 1-0 victory over Angola in the quarter-finals of the 2023 tournament.
PAST MEETINGS
OVERALL:
Uganda: P8 W4 D2 L2 GF6 GA5 GD+1
Nigeria: P8 W2 D2 L4 GF5 GA6 GD-1
AFCON ONLY
Uganda: P1 W1 D0 L0 GF2 GA1 GD+1
Nigeria: P1 W0 D0 L1 GF1 GA2 GD-1
PAST AFCON MEETINGS
1978, Semi-finals – 14 March 1978
Uganda 2 (Nasur 11’, Omondi 58’) Nigeria 1 (Eyo 54’)
