Rise of a Football God

With Sam's heroics yesterday, getting another goal and assist, taking his tally to a more ridiculous figure of 11 goals and 5 assists, Sam's name was already immortalized in this AFCON tournament but he was not the hero last night.

Last night was Stanley Nwabali's night.

The Nigerian goalkeeper won the man of the match award at the end of the game, having pushed Nigeria over the edge to win the game.

And with that, a date was finally set in the final.

A date between 2 of the favorites that were recognized at the beginning of the tournament, a date between Morocco and Nigeria.

(AFCON 2025:)

(Final:)

(Morocco – Nigeria)

(Date: 18th January, 2026)

Both countries didn't have it all smooth-sailing for them.

Just like Nigeria faced a big hurdle yesterday in Senegal, having to fight through the Teranga Lions, Morocco also passed through a trial of blood in the form of clashing against the Pharaohs of Egypt led by the Egyptian King.

And just like Nigeria, they passed their test with flying colors.

And now, these 2 nations were to clash in the final of the tournament.

After their crazy performances since the beginning of the tournament till now, both countries were in crazy form.

The final was billed to be another clash of titans, another game where 2 giants of African football would clash in a battle to the death.

But before that, another game was scheduled in the tournament.

The game for 3rd place.

(AFCON 2025:)

(Match for 3rd place:)

(Tunisia – Senegal)

(Date: 17th January, 2026)

The 3rd place match would be played a day before the final, but even that would only take place in 3 days.

And so, Sam and his teammates had a little time to recover from the game that drained them of all strength.

Playing 120 minutes against Senegal drained the Nigerian squad.

And now, led by their coach, they all went through post-match recovery procedures to recover as soon as possible for the final clash that would take place in the largest stadium in Morocco, the Grande Stade de Tanger stadium in Tangier.

Before the 3rd place match, in one of the evenings as Sam continued recovering from the exertion of the Senegal game, he spoke with his girlfriend.

"Hey babe".

"My big baby," she smiled. "How are you faring?"

Sam smiled tiredly. "It's tough, honestly, far tougher than I expected". He chuckled. "I never expected staying and maintaining my body at the top level to perform at my best every game in a tournament would be this hard".

He sighed. "Now, I admire what Lionel Messi and that Argentina team did during the 2022 World Cup even more".

Kayla smiled. "Messi is your idol, right?"

Sam smirked. "Is that even a question?"

She chuckled. "Well, make your idol proud. Replicate what he did with his country with your country".

Sam smiled. "I don't even know if Messi watches the AFCON tournament, but I want to believe he does". He grinned. "That's one of the things motivating me to keep on giving my best for each and every game".

"You can do it babe!" Kayla smiled. "It's just 1 more game remaining now".

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "1 more game… against Morocco".

"You guys can win!"

Sam smiled again. "I know we can, but…"

He sighed. "You know, most of my teammates got to the last AFCON final too only to lose to Ivory Coast, the then hosts in the final".

"The situation this time is so similar, and I feel like the trauma of that last AFCON tournament is already getting to them".

"Then help them!"

"Huh?"

Kayla smiled. "You dummy, it's so simple! Have you forgotten your time in Fulham, when you loved playing the captain even as you were not the captain?"

"It's one of the things that drew me to you, those antics of yours".

"It made you seem so confident".

"I am confident!" Sam stressed.

Kayla laughed. "Anyways, your teammates need you know. Just like you used to motivate your teammates back in Fulham, motivate them".

"With Fulham, you broke trends that nobody ever expected".

"You won the premier league with Fulham Sam! Surely, winning the AFCON with Nigeria is not an impossible task".

Sam smiled, regaining his confidence again. "You know what? You're right babe, we're absolutely going to crush Morocco!"

"It's time to go rile up the boys!"

After a few more talk, they ended the call.

For the next few days, alongside his teammates, Sam did what he always did before. Train, train, and train again…, non-stop training.

And then, in a flash, it was already 17th.

…

17th January, 2026…

In the Complexe Sportif Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca, on a cool breezy night, Tunisia took on Senegal in the 3rd place match of the tournament.

Just like the Nigerian squad was exhausted after the semifinal game, the Senegal squad was also extremely exhausted after that grueling match.

It showed in the 3rd place match, giving Tunisia some initial hope.

The first half came to an end 0-0.

But as soon as Sadio Mane was introduced into the game, within just 3 minutes, the veteran Senegalese footballer showed his genius, receiving a pass from Idrissa Gueye before curling past the goalkeeper to score.

Sadio Mane's goal in the 66th minute of the game ended up being the only goal of the game, the winner.

And just like that, Senegal won, claiming 3rd place in the AFCON tournament.

With 3rd place in the tournament already finalized, all eyes turned and focused on the penultimate game of the 2025 AFCON tournament, the epic final clash between Morocco and Nigeria.

Both nations would do anything to win!

Hours after Senegal's win, Morocco's captain, Achraf Hakimi was caught by reporters who threw questions at him.

"Captain, Nigeria's attack are billed as the most fearsome in the tournament so far. Do you think your team can stop them?"

"Of course!" Hakimi answered confidently without hesitation.

"We've handled and tamed much worse attacks, Nigeria's attack is not going to be any different. We'll definitely win!"

The mind games already started.

That same night, Hakimi's words were thrown at Troost-Ekong, Nigeria's captain who responded by calling Hakimi's words the words of a drunkard.

Fires were already being shot, all in preparation for the penultimate moment of the tournament.

To the fans, it felt like a long time but it no longer tarried.

In the blink of an eye, D-day was already here.

It was 18th of January, 2026.