Story byNigeria in the CAN third-place playoff: what do the numbers say?Foot AfricaFri, January 16, 2026 at 8:35 AM UTC·1 min readNigeria’s history in the CAN third-place matchNigeria/@CAFNigeria will be aiming to wrap up the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN 2025) in style by clinching third place against Egypt. This African football classic is scheduled for Saturday, January 17 at 4 p. m. GMT. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Super Eagles bowed out in the semi-finals after a penalty shootout loss to Morocco (4-2) following a tightly contested match that ended goalless (0-0). Meanwhile, the Pharaohs were edged out by Senegal by the narrowest of margins (0-1). Historically, Nigeria have played in seven third-place matches—and won them all. Here’s a look at the Super Eagles’ record in Africa Cup of Nations third-place playoffs:January 25, 1992: Nigeria 2–1 CameroonFebruary 9, 2002: Nigeria 1–0 MaliFebruary 13, 2004: Nigeria 2–1 MaliMarch 16, 1978: Nigeria 2–0 TunisiaJanuary 31, 2006: Nigeria 2–1 SenegalJanuary 30, 2010: Nigeria 1–0 AlgeriaJuly 17, 2019: Tunisia 0–1 Nigeria.
