Category World News

Who: Mozambique vs. Nigeria
What: CAF Africa Cup of Nations
Where: Fez Stadium in Fez, Morocco
When: Monday at 8pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.

Nigeria’s ongoing AFCON 2025 campaign is summarized by fun, flair, and fragility.

Nigeria have set themselves as the tournament’s top attacking force, but they still need to shore up a sluggish defense despite boasting impressive squad depth.

The Super Eagles have recovered quickly from the agony of missing the FIFA World Cup and are now flying high in Morocco thanks to the work of a talented group led by Ademola Lookman, Raphael Onyedika, Victor Osimhen, and Alex Iwobi.

The former champions now face Mozambique, who for the first time advanced past the group stage and earns a spot in the quarterfinals, as one of only two teams with a perfect group-stage record.

Mozambique, who is ranked 102nd in the world, is prepared to make history by facing a team that is ranked 74th in the world.

Everything you need to know about Nigeria and Mozambique is listed below.

Nigeria’s progressed to the 16th round.

The African powerhouse defeated Tanzania, Uganda, and Tunisia to reach the knockout stages. With a perfect record, Nigeria became the first nation to reach the last 16.

How did Mozambique complete the 16th round?

One of the four best third-placed teams, Mozambique, advanced. The Mambas ended a 40-year quest for a title at the continental tournament by winning one of their two Group F games against Gabon. They are competing in the knockout stages of AFCON for the first time.

In the following round, who will face off?

On January 10, the winner of the match between Nigeria and Mozambique and the winner of the Algeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo will travel to Marrakech to face the winner of the quarterfinal.

Who are the top footballers in Nigeria?

Forward Lookman has been one of Nigeria’s standout players at the tournament, scoring two goals and adding two assists. The 28-year-old played both as a playmaker and finisher and was a key part of the team’s victories in their opening two games.

Lookman is expected to unleash their full force against their East African foes after being rested for the final group match.

While Iwobi has been playing the midfield, and Osimhen, one of the most feared attackers in the competition, has scored twice in the previous match, midfielder Onyedika has also contributed a lot, and striker Osimhen has remained one of the most feared attackers.

Who are the top footballers in Mozambique?

Geny Catamo, the winger who helped Mozambique advance through history, has scored two of the team’s four goals during the competition. The net has also been found for right back Diogo Calila and forward Faisal Bangal.

Guidebooks are written by Nigeria and Mozambique.

Nigeria: W-W-W-L-L

Mozambique: L-W-L-L-D

• Nigeria recorded the highest average possession rate (66%) and the highest tally in the group stage with eight goals, which is the highest total in the competition.
• For the first time since 2021, Nigeria has won all three of their group games.
• Only their 18 AFCON matches (D4 L13) have come from Mozambique, which defeated Gabon.
• Mozambique has conceded in all 18 of their AFCON games but has yet to maintain a clean record.

Head-to-head

In five previous competitive and friendly games, Nigeria and Mozambique have played each other.

With four victories and a draw, Nigeria is the dominant team in the standings.

When did the last meeting between Nigeria and Mozambique occur?

The last friendly between the two organizations in Albufeira, Portugal, took place in October 2023 with a victory over Nigeria.

Stat attack: Nigeria vs. Mozambique

Their second AFCON game will be on Monday. Their previous AFCON encounter was when Nigeria defeated them 3-1 in the final group game of the 2010 competition.

Following its 16th consecutive defeat in 1982, Nigeria has failed to advance beyond the group stage.

Has Nigeria ever captured an AFCON title?

Nigeria has won the AFCON three times, winning it in 1980, 1994, and 2013.

Additionally, they came in fifth place overall. They will make their 21st appearance at the continental championship.

Has Zimbabwe ever captured an AFCON title?

No. They are already at their best finish in the 2025 edition of the tournament, which is their sixth.

News from the Nigerian team

Ryan Alebiosu, who made his debut in the previous game, and Cyriel Dessers, who hasn’t been named, are both expected to miss. Because neither of them is a regular starter, their absence is unlikely to have a significant impact.

After scoring twice in the previous game, Onyedika earned the player of the match award, which is still in play, coach Eric Chelle could keep him in midfield.

Nigeria’s lineup was anticipated

Stanley Nwabili (goalkeeper), Bright Osayi-Samuel, Semi Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, Bruno Onyemaechi, Samuel Chukwueze, Wilfred Ndidi, Onyedika, Iwobi, Osimhen, and Lookman

News from the Mozambique team

Calila, who was injured in the previous game after only 15 minutes, will miss Mozambique. Nene, who scored an own goal against Cameroon, also has injuries.

lineup for Mozambique was anticipated

For more than ten years, Venezuela’s 63-year-old Nicolas Maduro held onto his position of power.

On Saturday, January 3, his and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, were abducted by American forces, who abruptly took them out of the country.

On drug- and weapons-related charges, the two are allegedly being tried in a US court.

Maduro, who is he? How did he become Venezuela’s leader? And how did the US end up abducting him? What we are aware of is this.

Early life of Maduro

On November 23, 1962, Maduro was born in the Caracas El Valle neighborhood.

His parents, Teresa de Jesus Moros and Nicolas Maduro Garcia, both had three daughters: Maria Teresa, Josefina, and Anita Maduro, are trade union leaders.

Maduro’s political father had a significant influence on his early life.

When Maduro first arrived in Venezuela, he claimed that his grandparents were of Sephardic Jewish descent and that they later embraced Catholicism.

Maduro was a fan of Western rock music as a child and frequently cited John Lennon.

There are no records that indicate that he graduated from El Valle’s public high school, the Liceo Jose Avalos, where he reportedly served as the president of the student union.

Become a powerful force

Organized labor gave way to Maduro’s political rise.

In the early 1980s, he is alleged to have enrolled in the Marxist-Leninist party, the Socialist League of Venezuela.

Maduro was a member of the Socialist League’s (UJC) team that traveled to Cuba for a year of political training at the Escuela Nacional de Cuadros Julio Antonio Mella, which was founded at the age of 24 in 1986.

After returning, he began driving buses for the city of Caracas before starting the SITRAMECA, or Sindicato de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras del Metro de Caracas, in 1991.

In the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Maduro started one of the company’s first informal labor syndicates, gradually gaining foothold in the power centers through union politics. He also founded one of the company’s first informal labor syndicates.

Maduro was on the national committee of the Socialist League, according to a 2006 cable from the US Embassy in Caracas that WikiLeaks obtained. He “reportedly turned down a baseball contract from a U.S. Major League Baseball scout.”

Hugo Chavez, a Venezuelan lieutenant colonel who led the armed Bolivarian movement rebelling against the two-party democracy system and the current president, Carlos Andres Perez, cited corruption, moved him.

After being imprisoned for the failed coup in 1992, Maduro joined MBR-200, the movement’s civilian wing, and continued to fight for Chavez’s release.

Cilia Flores, Maduro’s future wife, was Maduro’s attorney who won Chavez’s freedom in 1994.

Maduro joined the socialist political party Movement of the Fifth Republic in 1997 to run for president in the 1998 elections following Chavez’s pardon and release. Despite having won the presidency, Maduro was elected to the National Constituent Assembly.

After serving for six years as the minister of foreign affairs, Maduro was close to Chavez when the new constitution was being drafted in 1999. Maduro became Venezuela’s vice president in October 2012 as a result of Chavez’s rapidly deteriorating health.

Power consolidation in Caracas

In a televised address in December 2012, Chavez, the outgoing leader, named Maduro, the then vice president, as his political replacement as he fell ill and was taking a trip to Cuba to treat cancer.

In the elections following Chavez’s passing, Maduro won by a slim margin in April 2013.

He called US diplomats “historical enemies” and charged them with poisoning Chavez as they entered his presidency. He referred to the domestic opposition as “fascists” trying to “divide the nation.”

The first lady then rose to the position of attorney general and chamber chief, respectively.

Maduro seized complete control of key institutions, including the Supreme Court, the military, and the state media, which Chavez had already transformed.

The former union leader, however, struggled with a collapsed economy and opposition, including Maria Corina Machado, who later won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, which sparked protests all over the nation. He did not have his mentor’s charisma. At least 43 protestors were killed when Maduro attacked them.

In 2017 to neutralize the legislature, which is now under the control of the opposition, Maduro established a pro-government constituent assembly in response to mounting opposition pressure and declining popularity. More than 100 people were killed by Venezuelan forces in a subsequent round of protests and a further crackdown.

Venezuela’s nearly 30 million people were experiencing shortages of essentials, and oil production was sagging behind, all the while the economy suffered.

Maduro was unopposed in the following 2018 election, but 45 nations, including the US, did not recognize him, and he imprisoned some opposition leaders and forced others to flee.

The election council failed to provide the tally sheets, so Maduro was once again chosen as the winner in the 2024 presidential election, which was widely accepted to be opaque. Following that, more extensive demonstrations were staged and severely repressed.

Why did Trump decide to oust Maduro from power?

Trump raised the stakes against the Venezuelan leader after winning a second term in January of last year.

Caracas was subject to a 25% tariff, Maduro received a double bounty, and members of his family were subject to sanctions.

US forces have launched strikes on vessels off Venezuelan coast since September, which the White House claims were involved in “narco-terrorism.”

Maduro and his wife were taken to the US on Saturday to stand trial for charges brought against them there.

According to Venezuelan officials, US airstrikes killed at least 40 people, destroyed parts of the capital, and violated their country’s sovereignty by abducting President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuelans are divided between rejoicing about US policy and applauding his removal.