Ex South Africa Star Names Super Eagles Most Important Player, Snubs Osimhen & Lookman, Video
- Former South Africa forward Shaun Bartlett has picked Nigeria's best player at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
- The former Charlton Athletic star failed to mention Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman
- Nigeria lost 4-2 on penalties to host nation Morocco in the semi-final, and faces Egypt in the third-place
Former South Africa international Shaun Bartlett has named Nigeria's most outstanding player at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Super Eagles lost 4-2 to host Morocco in the semifinal of the continental tournament after a goalless draw over an intense 120 minutes at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on Wednesday, January 14.
Source: Getty Images
Nigeria missed an opportunity to make it to the final after Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi threw away their penalty kick.
The three-time AFCON winners will take on Egypt in the third-place match, after the seven-time winners lost to the Teranga Lions of Senegal 1-0 in the first semifinal match, courtesy of a goal from Sadio Mane, according to ESPN.
Bartlett mentions Nigeria's standout player
Former South Africa striker Shaun Bartlett has identified a Nigerian player who made a huge impact throughout the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Speaking on SuperSport’s AFCON podcast, the Cape Town Spurs legend praised Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi for his influence in the team.
The 53-year-old likened Ndidi’s role and importance to that of Sergio Busquets, Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante. He said:
“It is like when we watch Nigeria and Wilfred Ndidi play, nobody speaks about him. We spoke about Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen, Adams Akor
“He’s the most overlooked position. Even if you look around the world, you see players like Busquets of Spain, Makélélé at Chelsea, or N’Golo Kanté and he mentioned Roy Keane of Manchester United; they were all doing the hard, dirty work, but who gets the accolades or recognition the attacking players.
"Yesterday, you could see they needed that person with a calm head, stability and variation of passes.
Source: Getty Images
“We all admired Iwobi with his penetrating passes, but Ndidi was doing his job.”
The AFCON winner said the duo of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman still have a chance of cementing their legacy in the 35th edition of the continental tournament. He said:
"The third-place match is an opportunity for Lookman or Osimhen to get top scorer slot after missing the trophy. If they want that accolade, they got an opportunity to do it. The only question is: Will they want to play?
The Super Eagles scored a total of 14 goals in six matches, conceding four.
The three-time AFCON winners’ only game without a goal came against host Morocco in the semifinal, per Sofa Score.
Oliseh mentions standout players vs Tunisia
Legit.ng earlier reported that Super Eagles legend Sunday Oliseh has identified two Nigerian players who made the difference in the match against Tunisia.
The Ajax legend made no mention of Victor Osimhen, despite the striker scoring Nigeria’s opening goal and recording several attempts during the game.
Source: Legit.ng
