Super Eagles defender Bright Osayi-Samuel couldn’t hide his disappointment after Nigeria’s penalty shootout defeat to Morocco in the semi-final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Footynaija.com reports.
A largely one-sided encounter at the Prince Moulay Abdallah Stadium in Rabat saw the host nation dominate for long spells in Wednesday night’s clash.
However, the Super Eagles, displaying another side to their game, stayed compact and defended valiantly to keep a Morocco side buoyed by the deafening support of their home crowd at bay for 120 minutes.
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The ensuing penalty shootout would ultimately spell Nigeria’s doom though, as Morocco’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou thwarted Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi from twelve yards to send the Atlas Lions into the finals.
Speaking after the game, Osayi-Samuel admitted the pain of defeat at this stage of the tournament but maintained that the Super Eagles have every reason to be proud.
“It was very painful to lose,” the former Fenerbahce man said in quotes revealed by Complete Sport.
“The back four was amazing. I’m proud of the team, the manager came down and said he’s proud of the team, (NFF) board members came down and said they are proud of the team.
“It’s just really painful that we lost on penalties, that’s a game of lottery and today we didn’t win that.”
The Birmingham City defender also took some time to register his dissatisfaction with the match officiating of Ghanaian referee Daniel Laryea after some obviously contentious calls during the game.
“The referee was appalling. [I’m] not saying that is why we lost but made very wrong decisions.
“It’s really painful to see that we have refs like that in big games like this. But I wish Morocco all the best.”
After failing to reach the final, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will now battle for third place against Egypt. Both sides will clash at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca on Saturday, January 17.
