AFCON: Chidozie Awaziem says Nigeria will block out Morocco’s home support in semi-final clash

Nigeria defender Chidozie Awaziem has said the Super Eagles will block out the home support of the Atlas Lions when they clash with hosts Morocco in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final on Wednesday.

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​Morocco will face the Super Eagles in the second semi-final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. The Atlas Lions have enjoyed massive support throughout their campaign, winning four of their five fixtures so far.

​Speaking to the press during the team’s final training session on Tuesday, Awaziem insisted the Super Eagles are unfazed by the hostile atmosphere.

“We all know that Morocco is the host team, so we know they’re going to have the massive supporters in the stadium.

We just have to be focused on ourselves and the team, focused on the pitch and what we have to do. We just have to turn deaf ears to the fans and try to get the job done.”

He also noted that the game will be a difficult test, as Morocco boasts several world-class players.

“We know it’s not going to be an easy game.We know it’s going to be a very difficult game because Morocco have a lot of good players who play for big clubs. We know we have to pay a lot of attention to the players and we have to win the game”

Furthermore, the FC Nantes player noted that while the Super Eagles are prepared to go the distance—including a penalty shootout—the primary goal is to win in regulation time.

“Yes, we’ve already trained, we’ve prepared very well.

We don’t want the game to get to the penalties though, but we’re ready for anything because we don’t know what’s going to happen.But I mean, all we can control in the game is just focus ourselves,our determination and our strength. So that’s all we got to do.And yeah, I think at the end, we’re going to be victorious.”

The last time the Super Eagles faced an AFCON host was against Côte d’Ivoire in the 2023 final, a match they lost 2-1.