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), praising their attacking style and overall performances despite their semi-final exit.
Nigeria enjoyed an impressive run at the tournament, scoring 14 goals and conceding only four in seven matches. The Super Eagles were particularly solid in the knockout stages, where they did not concede a single goal, before being eliminated by Morocco in the semi-finals.
Speaking with Bleacher Report Football, Toure reserved his highest praise for the Nigerian side, highlighting both their style of play and attacking output.
“I was impressed with Nigeria. Nigeria play good football. When you look at the statistics, they were scoring more goals than usual. It felt like full attack, playing very good football,” he said.
Toure went on to single out the Super Eagles above other contenders at the tournament.
“The most impressive team for me, in my opinion, was Nigeria — the football they were playing, the goals they were scoring, and the players winning because they had two of the best African players in their team,” he added.
Despite their strong showing, Nigeria’s title quest ended at the semi-final stage, a result Toure described as unfortunate.
“They played such wonderful games and got knocked out by Morocco in the semi-finals,” he said.
The Super Eagles went on to claim the bronze medal, defeating Egypt 4–2 on penalties after a draw at the end of regulation time in the third-place playoff. They finished the competition as the tournament’s most prolific attacking side.
Reflecting on the overall quality of the competition, Toure also praised other teams that caught his attention.
“I’ve been watching AFCON, and I’ve been there as well. I was impressed with Algeria, unfortunately they were knocked out by Nigeria,” he said.
The former Ivory Coast captain also highlighted Morocco’s tactical discipline under head coach Walid Regragui.
“I’ve been impressed with the team under Walid Regragui. The Morocco manager is very pragmatic, very direct, and plays on the counter-attack,” Toure said.
He further mentioned other notable teams at the tournament, including Congo and Ivory Coast, describing the Ivorians as a young side still learning and growing at the highest level.
Elijah Adeyemi
