Former Manchester City and Ivory Coast midfielder, Yaya Toure, has described Nigeria’s Super Eagles as the most impressive team at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.
The Super Eagles, coached by Eric Chelle, enjoyed an impressive unbeaten run during the tournament before suffering a heartbreaking 4–2 penalty shootout defeat to hosts Morocco in the semi-finals. Nigeria scored 14 goals and conceded just four, eventually clinching third place after defeating Egypt on penalties.
Speaking in an interview with Bleacher Report Football on Monday, Toure praised the overall quality of football at the tournament, singling out Algeria and hosts Morocco for their performances.
The four-time African Footballer of the Year winner, who is currently an assistant coach in Saudi Arabia, described Morocco as a pragmatic and direct side that thrived on counter-attacking football, despite losing the final to Senegal.
“I’ve been following the AFCON closely and I was impressed with Algeria, although they were eliminated by Nigeria. I was also impressed with Morocco under Regragui — very pragmatic, very direct and effective on the counterattack,” Toure said.
However, the former Barcelona star maintained that Nigeria stood out above all other teams at the tournament.
“I was really impressed with Nigeria. They played very good football. When you look at the statistics, they scored more goals than most teams, played with full attacking intent and produced exciting performances. For me, Nigeria were the most impressive team. The quality of football they played, the goals they scored and the players they have — including two of the best African players — made them outstanding. They played wonderful games before losing to Morocco in the semi-final,” he added.
Toure also praised the performances of DR Congo and his home country, Ivory Coast, but noted that both teams were still developing.
“Congo were also very good and did well until they were knocked out by Algeria. Ivory Coast have a young team — sometimes a bit naive — but that’s part of football and gaining experience,” he said.
