Penalty Debut: Nigeria Edges Algeria in AFCON 2025 Quarterfinal

First-half Controversy

In the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 quarterfinal between Algeria and Nigeria, a refereeing moment sparked debate. Algeria's players and their Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic urged for a penalty after a cross by Faris Shaibi that struck the hand of Nigerian defender Simi Ajayi. Despite protests, the on-field officials did not call for a video review.

Second-half Shock and Goals

Nigeria dominated the opening of the second half, but squandered several chances, leaving the score at 0-0 at halftime. In the early stages of the second half, Victor Osimhen opened the scoring for the Super Eagles, making it 1-0. In the 57th minute, Akor Adams added a second to seal the win.

Video assistants waited, but no review was conducted. The match ended with Nigeria in control and Algeria pressing for a reply that never came.

Morocco hosted AFCON 2025 and the quarterfinals delivered a result that will fuel debate among fans for days. The night belonged to Nigeria, who took the lead and doubled it late in the game.

Punchlines: If refereeing were a sniper, VAR would be the silent killer—great aim, sometimes invisible. And in football as in life, when you go all out for a penalty and miss, at least the joke writes itself: Algeria’s appeal stayed inbound, the whistle stayed quiet, and the scoreboard did the talking.