Rise of a Football God-Chapter 395: AFCON final; Morocco vs Nigeria [5]
The Grand Stade de Tanger was a cauldron of noise!
BOOM!
Chaos, ecstasy, shock, all these emotions and more clashed in this stadium in a chaotic cacophony of reactions.
That goal… was incredible.
As Sam slid on his knees in celebration, doing the Jude Bellingham celebration to booth, the stadium erupted.
On one side was the Nigerian fans. All of them rose to their feet, some pulling their jerseys and waving it wildly, the drummers increasing the intensity of their drums, and others simply crying in ecstasy.
That goal was unforgettable! Clutch! It meant the world to the fans.
And then the Sam chants broke out again in Morocco, in the final of the AFCON 2025 tournament.
"Sam!" "Sam!" "Sam!
Ecstatic fans of the Super Eagles bellowed at the top of their lungs.
As for the Moroccan fans, they were conflicted.
That goal…, Sam literally ran through the whole Moroccan defense!
The Nigerian fans always bragged about having the best player in the world playing for their country. The Moroccan fans always refuted these claims but after this goal, a large part of the fanbase became conflicted.
That goal could not be faked. It was a moment of individual brilliance, a moment of genius that separated Sam from all the other players in this game.
This was an incredibly tight game, a tight game between 2 giants of African football, clashing in the biggest stage of football for the continent of Africa, the AFCON final and yet in this big stage, Sam was still able to perform.
He already performed in the NPFL, he performed in the premier league, he performed in the La Liga, he performed in the UEFA champions league, and now, Sam laid his claim as a God among men in the final of the AFCON tournament.
Clap! Clap!
The Moroccan fans could not help it, some of them rose up, erupting in applause as they celebrated greatness.
They didn't chant his name like the Nigerian fans, happiness didn't show on their faces, and yet they felt the need to appreciate greatness.
Trust the commentators, they would not miss the opportunity to say their thoughts on such an iconic moment.
"What a moment for Sam!"
"He's written his name in AFCON footballing folklore!"
"He's a Nigerian legend true and true now!"
"A Nigerian legend… at the age of 20, 20, my God!"
"Sam is a once in a lifetime genius!"
"A genius on the level of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Mark my words, this boy is going to dominate the world of football!"
"This is the rise of another legend of the sport!"
"The rise of a football God!"
"When last has opposing fans given a round of applause to the best player of the enemy team? And to do it in the final of the AFCON tournament, it only goes to show how much of a God among men Sam is!"
"The boy is blessed!"
"His feet are divine weapons of mass destruction in a football pitch!"
The Moroccan players were not excluded from the awe the whole stadium was feeling at this moment as they stared at Sam celebrate.
'This guy…!' Sofyan Amrabat felt like he was going crazy.
The others saw it, but not as clearly as he did. Afterall, he got a VIP front-row spot to watch Sam in action in his full glory.
And having been tasked to man-mark Sam, a task that he put beyond 100% of his effort into fulfilling, to witness the man he was supposed to man mark just do this sorcery, Amrabat was flabbergasted.
'He's not human!' He concluded.
Still on the ground, Ounahi looked on, stunned. 'This guy is a monster!'
The whole Moroccan squad stood still, watching Sam as he celebrated, too speechless to comprehend the sorcery that he just performed on the pitch.
While everyone reacted, trust Sam's teammates, they also reacted.
They all charged after him as he went to celebrate and they swarmed him, jumping all over his body in celebration.
After the initial celebrations, Victor Osimhen went before Sam, going on one knee and taking Sam's boot as he wiped dust from it in a theatrical display.
The Nigerian striker was honestly awed.
As the striker of the Nigerian team, when Sam started the attack, he was close by and so he also had front-row view to see Sam in motion.
What Sam just did was something that Victor Osimhen never thought was possible. That dribble, going through the whole squad, and the ice-cold finish at the end, all of it was grafted in his head, never to be forgotten.
"My man!" Victor Osimhen said with a big grin.
Though they badly wanted it, the Nigerian players were disappointed. The celebrations for that goal could not continue forever.
Under the urging of the referee, they quickly returned to the pitch, arranging themselves in their position as the referee's whistle finally sounded again.
FWEEEE!
The whistle sounded but everyone could tell immediately…, it was no longer the same after that goal.
Sam's goal grabbed this game by the scruff of the neck, taking control.
Earlier in this game, all the way from the first half, Morocco and Nigeria were evenly matched, both playing an intense game of end-to-end football.
The analysts predicted a defensive mistake to be the defining difference between both countries that would decide the winner of the trophy tonight.
But unlike predictions, Sam became the deciding factor.
Singlehandedly, he scored the goal of the tournament.
And that goal tilted the scales, pushing the momentum in Nigeria's favor, taking it out of Morocco's grasp completely.
And after scoring such a goal in the final of the AFCON tournament, Sam was already in the zone state.
As soon as the referee's whistle sounded, he continued.
BZZZ!
With eyes burning with hunger for more, determined to deal out even more punishment to his opponents, Sam erupted, playing like a superhuman with extraordinary powers among mere humans.
All his skills were utilized on the pitch!
He dribbled, weaving through challenges one after another, repeatedly torching the Moroccan players who seemed to be down on motivation.
Even Sofyan Amrabat who had been doing such a good job at man-marking Sam since faltered, and Sam was not kind enough to let them off the hook after such a sudden dip in concentration.
Sam punished them.
In the 67th minute, he scored, making it 1-2 and giving Nigeria the lead for the 2nd time in this game and then just 3 minutes later in the 70th minute, Sam sealed the game.
After receiving a diagonal pass from Alex Iwobi, with his rapid tight-space dribbling, he burst his way into Morocco's 18-yard box again.
"…!"
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This time, the whole Moroccan defense reacted in trepidation.
Whoosh!
Players went on sliding tackles, putting their bodies on the line to block any possible shot. Some put their head on the way without fear, others charged closer to clatter into Sam, determined to win back the ball by any means.
Right there in the 18-yard box, with all the attention suddenly on Sam due to the trepidations in the Moroccan defense, a dangerous player was left unmarked.
Nigeria's striker, Victor Osimhen was left unmarked.
Bam!
A soft, delicate pass.
The Mesut Ozil pass!
In the zone state already, Sam was able to execute the pass with flawless efficiency, sending the ball in between the Moroccan players surrounding him towards the unmarked Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen didn't waste a moment on the ball.
As the ball floated towards him, he followed it with his eyes and just as Yassin Bono was about to react, instead of trapping the ball first, he hit it directly.
BAM!
Victor Osimhen hit the ball on a volley, sending it towards the left side of the goal with immense speed.
Yassine Bono dived but it was not enough, the ball nestled into the net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLL…!!!" Ecstatic Nigerian fans around the stadium erupted in ecstasy even more as they celebrated the goal.
Devastated Moroccan fans directly broke down in tears in the stadium as soon as the 3rd Nigerian goal entered the net.
Charging towards the corner flag with wide strides, Victor Osimhen roared at the top of his lungs, pumping his fists in ecstasy as he ran.
And after arriving at the corner flag, he turned, pointing at the one who provided him with that pass… Samuel Moses.
When Sam arrived, Victor Osimhen went on one knee again, dusting his boots even as the Sam chants filled the stadium again.
"Sam!" "Sam!" "Sam!"
Singlehandedly, Sam took over the 2025 AFCON final with an iron fist, dictating the outcome of the game.
67 minutes, 1-2…
70 minutes, 1-3…
Morocco never recovered.
Hit by the Sam syndrome, the Moroccan national team lost all motivation. As the game wore on, they regained some motivation, pushing them to launch dangerous attacking raids but it didn't amount to much.
The game was already over.
80 minutes, no goal…
90 minutes, no goal…
After 5 minutes of additional time, still no goal, and then…
FWEEEEE!
The referee's whistle blasted, bringing the game to a sudden halt.
The game… was over.
