AFCON 2025: Nigeria’s Simon wades into Osimhen spat with Lookman – “He is always a fighter”

Nigeria’s commanding progress at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations continued on Monday night, but not without a brief moment of tension that threatened to distract from an otherwise flawless display in Fez, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Super Eagles swept aside Mozambique 4-0 in their Round of 16 clash to make it four wins from four matches in Morocco and book their place in the quarter-finals.

Yet the night was also marked by an on-field disagreement between Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, an incident that has now drawn a firm and calming response from Paris FC forward Moses Simon.

With Nigeria already cruising, Osimhen cut a frustrated figure after a second-half attack broke down when he felt Lookman should have passed to allow him complete a hat-trick.

Words were exchanged, and captain Wilfred Ndidi was forced to step in to prevent the situation from escalating.

Head coach Eric Chelle later confirmed he was unhappy with the episode and hinted that Osimhen could face internal sanctions, though he stressed that any disciplinary action would remain within the group.

Now, Simon has moved to publicly defend the Galatasaray striker, urging focus on the team’s bigger mission.

“I think I didn't see anything, which some people said he did something bad,” Simon told Soccernet.ng after the game. “But we are all a team and there is nothing to talk about.

“He is a guy, we know, he is always a fighter in the team. Of course, he will still fight for us. We need him and the team needs him and I believe he also needs us. We just need to keep going.”

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Nigeria in full flow in Morocco

The brief flashpoint did little to overshadow a performance that boosted Nigeria’s growing threat at this tournament.

Ademola Lookman opened the scoring after 20 minutes, his third goal of the tournament, setting the tone for a one-sided contest. Akor Adams then took centre stage as the chief architect, contributing a goal and two assists.

Osimhen bagged a brace following more excellent work from Lookman.

Mozambique, playing in the knockout stages of an AFCON for the first time, were simply unable to live with the pace, movement and precision of Nigeria’s front line.

The result leaves Chelle’s side just two wins away from the final and extends their perfect run in Morocco: four matches, four victories, and a growing sense of momentum.

Nigeria now know their quarter-final opponents will be either Algeria or DR Congo, who meet in the Round of 16 on Tuesday.

Both possible matchups come loaded with narrative. A meeting with DR Congo would offer a chance at redemption after Nigeria were knocked out by the Leopards on penalties in a World Cup qualifying play-off in November. Algeria, meanwhile, would represent Nigeria’s sternest technical examination of the tournament so far.

Vladimir Petkovic’s Desert Warriors also finished the group stage with a perfect record, conceding just once. They boast a star-studded squad including Riyad Mahrez, who has already scored three times in two appearances, as well as Rayan Ait-Nouri, Ismael Bennacer and goalkeeper Luca Zidane.