Rise of a Football God

At the end of the round of 16 stage of the AFCON tournament, a few things were established in the tournament.

First, Sam pulled away from his rivals in the golden boot race, establishing himself as the challenger in pole position to win the golden boot with his incredible haul of 7 goals and 3 assists in just 4 games.

Sam's career rise was nothing short of meteoric.

He did it in the NPFL with Enyimba FC, he did it in the English Premier League with Fulham FC, and now he was doing it with FC Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga.

And also now, he was doing it in the AFCON tournament.

Sam was still just 20, but he played with the maturity and skill of a veteran of the game. His game intelligence was far ahead of his real age, just like Lamine Yamal.

No stage was too big for him, no opponent was too big for him.

He could perform anywhere, anytime, and that was what made him special.

After what he did with Fulham last season, lots of football fans around the world learned about Sam, becoming his fans. And with what he was doing with FC Barcelona this season, his fanbase only kept on increasing.

This season, he was the early ballon d'Or favorite but Sam was clearly showing that the pressure of such a position was not getting to him.

Ballon d'Or favorite or not, he was still Samuel Moses, dubbed Zinedine Sam, the boy that was ready to give his all anytime on the pitch to win.

Because of Sam alone, a lot more football fans watched the AFCON tournament this year, him being the center of attention of the tournament.

And being the center of attention, the pressure still didn't get to him.

Sam was balling out in the AFCON tournament, leading Nigeria as one of the favorites to go all the way and win the trophy.

But he was not the only star player balling out in the tournament though.

Mohamed Salah may have dropped off in the golden boot race, but overall, his impact was still synonymous with Egypt's success.

It was his assist that helped Omar Marmoush score in the last game, helping Egypt to finally break the deadlock and get the winner.

The Egyptian King was still very much in the golden ball race, so was Sam, and so was Ismaila Sarr.

The Senegalese forward, Ismaila Sarr was another stand-out player in the tournament, and the closest player to Sam in the golden boot race with 5 goals.

Despite the fact that he didn't score in Senegal's round of 16 game, he was the one who created the assist for Sadio Mane's first goal that ended up being the winner. His influence in the Senegal side was massive.

Also in the golden ball race were 2 stars from the host nation, Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz. Both were balling out for Morocco in the tournament.

In front of their home fans, both star players felt in their elements.

Their numbers may not contend with the 3 others who were favorites for the golden ball award, but if Morocco managed to go all the way in the tournament, there was nothing stopping them from scooping home the award.

The round of 16 battle was over…, 8 countries progressed while 8 were eliminated.

Now, all focus moved to the epic quarterfinal matchups.

The heat was amping up, the pressure was hitting a crescendo.

(AFCON 2025:)

(Quarterfinal:)

(Egypt – Morocco)

(Date: 9th January, 2026)

…

(Tunisia – Algeria)

(Date: 9th January, 2026)

…

(Cameroon – Nigeria)

(Date: 10th January, 2026)

…

(Botswana – Senegal)

(Date: 10th January, 2026)

The round of 16 games ended on the 6th, giving the players at least 2 days of rest to prepare for the next game.

Due to the side of the tournament bracket that they were put in, the first game of the AFCON 2025 quarterfinals was poised to be a blockbuster encounter; a clash between 2 African footballing giant nations, Egypt and Morocco.

Both countries had time to rest and prepare for the epic clash.

The other clash to be played on the 9th was the encounter between Tunisia and Algeria, 2 average African footballing nations who managed to dig themselves all the way to the quarterfinal stage.

And then, the next day, scheduled on the 10th was Senegal and Nigeria's games against inferior opponents on paper.

Due to this matchup, all eyes focused on the first clash of the quarterfinal stage, the epic encounter between Egypt and Morocco.

Sam could not imagine the mood in both nation's camp.

It must be filled with a lot of tension, or maybe not.

But none of that really concerned him, this was because Nigeria had their own game to play just a day after the blockbuster clash between Egypt and Morocco.

Instead of worrying about them, he worried about Nigeria's immediate opponent, Cameroon.

Nigeria was billed as the favorites in that game, but Sam already played enough football at the professional level to know the consequence of underestimating an opponent.

They made it to the quarterfinal for a reason, and Sam respected them for it.

For the next few days after the round of 16, while engaging in recovery measures, they also trained like their lives was on the line.

These days, Eric Chelle had eyebags under his eyes as if he was not sleeping as the coach lived, breath, and saw tactics even in his dreams.

The last thing Eric Chelle wanted was for his team to be eliminated due to an oversight from his side, this was why he gave his all.

Tactically, he drilled his team.

Physically, he worked them to the bones.

Day in, day out, and in no time like this, it was D-day.

9th January, 2026…

In the 75,000+ capacity Grand Stade de Tanger stadium in Tangier, filled to the brim with passionate football fans in red and white, Egypt lined up against the hosts, Morocco in the epic game of the quarterfinal stage.

Both teams were stacked and at their strongest.

It was going to be an epic game.

The Nigerian team watched the game as one in their hotel.