Saturday Jan 10, 2026. 22:49
Join AfricanFootball.com for LIVE updates from all 52 matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, as 24 teams battle for glory in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January.
Today’s matches:
18h00 – Algeria 0-2 Nigeria – Match Centre
21h00 – Egypt v Cote d’Ivoire – Match Centre
Updates:
90+1’ – There will be five minutes of added time. Can the Elephants score and force this match into extra time?
88’ – Another header on target for the Elephants, this time from substitute Vakoun Bayo, but again El Shenawy is well placed to save.
80’ – Guessand heads on target with a glancing effort, but Mohamed El Shenawy scrambles across to make a save.
73’ – GOAL! Egypt 3-2 Ivory Coast. The Elephants score from another set piece! This time a corner kick causes chaos in the Pharaohs box and Guela Doue stabs home ahead of a defender!
70’ – Ivory Coast make a change, with Kessie out and Jean-Philippe Krasso introduced.
64’ – Franck Kessie shoots over the target after picking up a loose ball in the penalty area. Ivory Coast will need to pull a goal back quickly if they are to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
60’ – Mohamed Hany with a low shot from the right, well saved by Fofana and Marmoush can’t capitalise on the loose ball just in front of the goalkeeper.
52’ – GOAL! Egypt 3-1 Ivory Coast. Salah puts the Pharaohs back in total control, stabbing home from close ranger after a brilliant assist from Ashour!
46’ – Back underway in the second half. No changes from either team at the break.
45+3’ – Half time. Egypt 2-1 Ivory Coast. A cracking first half in Agadir, with Egypt enjoying the advantage for now. But this game has the potential to go anywhere from here… a fascinating second 45 minutes awaits.
45+1’ – There will be two minutes of added time.
40’ – GOAL! Egypt 2-1 Ivory Coast. The Elephants are back in it! Diomande whips in a cross from a free kick, Kossounou gets a slight flick and the ball is bundled into his own net by the unfortunate Ahmed Fatouh.
37’ – The Elephants have enjoyed over 70 percent of the possession, but it’s the Pharaohs who have taken their chances and established a dominant position.
32’ – GOAL! Egypt 2-0 Ivory Coast. The Pharaohs double their lead! Rami Rabia scores with a looping header from Mohamed Salah’s corner kick!
31’ – Past the half-hour mark, Egypt remain a goal to the good thanks to Marmoush’s early strike, but Ivory Coast have looked very capable of finding a way back into the contest.
23’ – Yan Diomande shoots on goal and Hossam Abdelmaguid makes an important block. Seconds later Evann Guessand heads wide of the target. Ivory Coast are knocking on the door…
17’ – Amad Diallo with a great chance to draw the Elephants level, but his shot is heroically blocked in the Egyptian penalty area.
9’ – A good response to going behind from the Ivory Coast, who have dialled up the pace and intensity of their play, and are putting Egypt under some pressure now.
4’ – GOAL! Egypt 1-0 Ivory Coast. Omar Marmoush beats Odilon Kossounou to Emam Ashour’s through ball and steers a low shot past goalkeeper Yahia Fofana for an early lead!
1’ – Kick-off. Egypt 0-0 Ivory Coast. We are underway at the Adrar Stadium. The Pharaohs wear red and black, while the Elephants are in a change strip of all-white.
The teams have been regular combatants in the AFCON down the years, including the 2006 Final, and their most recent meeting in the Round of 16 in the 2021 edition (held in 2022) – both matches ended 0-0 after extra time before the North Africans triumphed on penalties.
20h50 – In head-to-head terms, Egypt and Ivory Coast have met in 22 matches dating back as far as 1970. The Pharaohs have 12 wins compared to seven for the Elephants, while three games have been drawn (wins include penalty shootout triumphs).
20h45 – Egypt have made three changes to their starting XI compared to the 3-1 win over Benin in the Round of 16 earlier this week: Ahmed Fatouh, Hossam Abdelmaguid and Emam Ashour replace Mohamed Hamdi, Ibrahim Adel and Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’. Ivory Coast, meanwhile, have selected the same starting XI as their 3-0 win over Burkina Faso.
20h35 – Line-ups:
Egypt: M. El Shenawy, M. Hany, Y. Ibrahim, R. Rabia, A. Fatouh, M. Attia, H. Abdelmaguid, H. Fathy, E. Ashour, M. Salah, O. Marmoush
Ivory Coast: Y. Fofana, G. Doue, O. Kossounou, E. Ndicka, G. Konan, C. Inao Oulai, I. Sangare, F. Kessie, A. Diallo, E. Guessand, Y. Diomande
20h30 – The Quarterfinals at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations draw to a close with this clash between Egypt and Ivory Coast at the Adrar Stadium in Agadir.
Egypt, the seven-time AFCON champions, were made to work hard for their place in the final eight, defeating Benin 3-1 after extra time in the previous round thanks to goals from Marwan Attia, Yasser Ibrahim and talisman Mohamed Salah.
Ivory Coast, the reigning and three-time champions, overpowered regional rivals Burkina Faso 3-0 in the Round of 16, with goals from Amad Diallo, Yan Diomande and Bazoumana Toure – setting up this heavyweight showdown.
Full-time – Algeria 0 Nigeria 2. The AFCON 2023 losing finalists set up a semi-final date with hosts Morocco after recording a comfortable win over the Fennecs to maintain their perfect record in the tournament.
90′ – The fourth official indicates there will be six additional minutes at the end of the second half.
81′ – Adams almost scores again after meets a cross into the six-yard box, but his header comes back off the left post with Zidane beaten.
80′ – Finally a shot from Algeria as Baghdad Bounedjah takes a pop from range, but his attempt sails high over the bar.
79′ – Onyemaechi sends a cross into the danger area and Adams manages to connect, but the ball has far too much pace on it and the striker steers his header over the bar.
72′ – The tempo has slowed now as Nigeria seem happy to sit on their two-goal lead.
67′ – Midway through the second half and Algeria have yet to even test Stanley Nwabali. Riyad Mahrez has already been substituted and he won’t be adding to his three goals at AFCON 2025.
57′ – Goal!! Algeria 0-2 Nigeria. Adams has the simple task of tapping home from close range after Osimhen raced onto Bassey’s through-ball and squared for his team-mate to score.
54′ – Onyemaechi sends in another good cross for Osimhen, but his header lacks power as Zidane collects easily.
47′ – Goal! Algeria 0-1 Nigeria. The Super Eagles make a dream start to the second half as Onyemaechi hangs up a cross to the back post and Osimhen heads home past Zidane.
46′ – Algeria get the ball rolling in the second half.
Half-time – Algeria 0 Nigeria 0. It’s been one-way traffic in the first half as the Super Eagles have bossed proceedings, with the Fennecs not managing a single shot at goal and Stanley Nwabali being a virtual spectator. Petkovic may need to tweak things at the break to put Nigeria under some pressure in the second half as Algeria have looked toothless in attack.
45′ – There will be three minutes added on at the end of the first half.
37′ – Alex Iwobi wins the ball from Zidane’s clearance and he plays in Akor Adams, who blazes over the bar from the edge of the box. That was Nigeria’s best chance by far.
29′ – Ramy Bensebaini makes a last-ditch clearance on the line after Zidane comes out and fails to claim Osimhen’s free-kick into the box.
26′ – Nigeria go close to the opener as Ademola Lookman releases Victor Osimhen through on goal with a fine pass and the striker is thwarted by a brave block from Zidane.
23′ – Midway through the first half and Nigeria get their first shot on goal. They launch a counter from a poor Algeria free-kick and Ademola Lookman hits a fierce shot straight at Luca Zidane.
13′ – Nigeria survive a scare after the ball appears to strike Semi Ajayi on the arm insider the box, but the referee waves play on and there is no VAR review of the incident.
8′ – Another sniff at goal for the Super Eagles, this time from a corner which sees Victor Osimhen not time his jump correctly as he heads the ball over the bar from close range.
2′ – An early chance for Nigeria from a free-kick 30 yards out as Semi Ajayi gets away from his marker to direct a header over the crossbar.
1′ – Nigeria get this quarter-final encounter underway at the Marrakesh Stadium.
What the managers said:
Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic: “The most important thing is the mentality, everything starts with that, and from that perspective we have been flawless. We have confidence and quality.
“Every detail will matter against Nigeria. Nothing can be left to chance. We have the quality and we believe in ourselves. Now it’s up to us to deliver a great performance.”
Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle: “We’ve tried to find the weaknesses of the opponent and we try to put it into the head of our team that we can go past this obstacle.
“This is the quarter-finals and your state of mind is very important because you have to manage the pressure, manage the opponent and what your coach ask you. So, this is what we try to work on every day and I believe we will be ready for the game.”
The AFCON 2023 losing finalists dispatched Mozambique 4-0 last time out to become the highest goalscorers in the the tournament with 12. Eric Chelle’s side overame Tanzania (2-1), Tunisia (3-2) and Uganda (3-1) in the group stages.
Vladimir Petkovic’s side needed extra time to get past DR Congo in the round of 16 after Adil Boulbina scored a dramatic 119th-minute winner. The North Africans beat Sudan (3-0), Burkina Faso (1-0) and Equatorial Guinea (3-1) in the group stages.
The only two teams left with perfect records in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations go head-to-head at the Marrakesh Stadium for a place in the semi-finals. Algeria and Nigeria have met nine times before on the continent’s biggest stage, with the Fennecs edging the Super Eagles four wins to three in their previous match-ups.
Algeria v Nigeria starting line-ups:
Algeria: L. Zidane, R. Belghali, A. Mandi, R. Bensebaini, R. Aït-Nouri, R. Mahrez, R. Zerrouki, H. Boudaoui, F. Chaibi, I. Maza, M. Amoura.
Nigeria: S. Nwabali, B. Osayi-Samuel, S. Ajayi, C. Bassey, B. Onyemaechi, F. Onyeka, W. Ndidi, A. Iwobi, A. Lookman, A. Adams, V. Osimhen.
