Former Manchester City and Barcelona midfielder Yaya Touré has described Nigeria’s Super Eagles as the most impressive team at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, praising their style of play, attacking numbers and overall impact despite their failure to reach the final, footynaija.com reports.
The Super Eagles enjoyed a memorable campaign at the tournament, finishing as the competition’s highest-scoring side with 14 goals while conceding only four across the entire tournament. Their defensive record in the knockout rounds was particularly striking, with Nigeria not letting in a single goal on their way to the semi-finals. However, their bid for a fourth continental title ended in disappointment after a narrow defeat to hosts Morocco at that stage.
Speaking to Bleacher Report Football, Touré reflected on several teams that caught his eye over the course of the competition, starting with Algeria, who were knocked out by Nigeria in the quarter-finals.
“I’ve been seeing the Afcon, I’ve been there as well. I’ve been impressed with Algeria, unfortunately they get kicked out by Nigeria,” Yaya Toure said.
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He also had words of admiration for Morocco and their head coach, Walid Regragui, pointing to the clarity of their game plan and the discipline with which they executed it.
“I’ve been impressed about the team with Walid Regragui. The manager of Morocco, very pragmatic, very direct and playing counter-attack,” he added.
Yet, for the former Ivory Coast captain, it was Nigeria who stood above the rest. Touré said the Super Eagles combined efficiency with entertainment, backing up their performances with goals and consistency throughout the tournament.
“I was impressed with Nigeria, Nigeria play good football. When you see the stats, they’ve been scoring more than usual goals. It feels like full attack, playing very good football,” he said.
He went further, singling them out as the standout team of the competition in his personal assessment.
“The most impressive for me in my opinion was Nigeria – the football they were playing, the goals they were scoring. The players winning because the two best African players on their team.”
“They played such wonderful games and get kicked out by Morocco in the semifinals.”
Touré also highlighted other teams who left a mark, including Congo and Ivory Coast, the latter of whom he felt were a youthful side still learning on the big stage.
“Well, Congo was also good. They were kicked out by Algeria. Ivory Coast was a young team, at time a bit naive but it’s part of the footballing experience,” he said.
Nigeria eventually ended their campaign on a positive note, beating Egypt 4-2 on penalties after a draw in the third-place play-off to claim the bronze medal.
