The Uganda Cranes’ slim hopes of advancing to the Round of 16 at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations were dashed on Tuesday, as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Nigeria in their final Group C fixture at the Complexe Sportif de Fès.

Despite the Super Eagles having already secured their spot in the knockout stages, they proved too strong for a Ugandan side that finished the match with ten men. The result consigns Uganda to the bottom of Group C with a single point, while Nigeria tops the table with a perfect nine points.

Nigeria opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark through Paul Onuachu, who finished from close range following a neat assist from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. The goal came against the run of play for a Cranes side that had handed starts to Uche Ikpeazu Mubiru and Denis Omedi in a bid to secure the win necessary to progress.

The second half brought a dramatic shift in fortunes for Uganda. Head coach Paul Put introduced Steven Mukwala and Allan Okello in an attempt to find an equalizer and also replaced goalkeeper Denis Onyango, who had twice required medical treatment in the first half.

However, substitute goalkeeper Salim Jamal’s tenure lasted only ten minutes. He was shown a red card for handling the ball outside his area to deny a looping effort from Victor Osimhen. This forced Uganda to bring on their third goalkeeper of the match, Alionzi Nafian.

Nigeria quickly capitalized on the numerical advantage. Raphael Onyedika struck twice in quick succession to extend the lead, exploiting a tiring Cranes defense that was undone by Samuel Chukwueze’s creativity on the right wing.

Down to ten men and trailing by three, Uganda showed brief resilience. In the 75th minute, substitute Allan Okello provided a sublime pass to Rogers Mato, who finished beautifully to pull one back. However, it proved to be only a consolation.

In the other Group C match, Tanzania secured a 1-1 draw against Tunisia. The result was enough to see the Taifa Stars advance to the knockout stage as one of the four best third-placed teams, joining Nigeria (9 points) and Tunisia (4 points) in the next round.