Former Super Falcons striker Mercy Akide has opened up on her emotions during Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 semi-final penalty shootout defeat to Morocco, revealing she feared the worst when Samuel Chukwueze stepped up to take his spot kick.

The tense encounter in Rabat ended goalless after 90 minutes and extra time, forcing the Super Eagles and the Atlas Lions into a penalty shootout, which Morocco eventually won 4-2.

Chukwueze was introduced late in extra time, replacing Frank Onyeka, with the primary aim of strengthening Nigeria’s chances in the shootout. With the score tied at 1-1, Morocco’s Hamza Igamane had his effort saved by Stanley Nwabali, handing Nigeria a crucial advantage.

However, Chukwueze failed to capitalise, as his weakly struck penalty was comfortably saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, swinging momentum back in favour of the hosts.
Speaking on the ATHLST Podcast, Akide explained why she was uneasy even before the winger took his kick.

“Before he took the kick, I saw him,” she said. “He’s a jokester, maybe because of his age. If you look at his social media, you’ll see it. In a moment like that, with such a huge crowd, you could already see it on him before he took the penalty.”

Akide stressed that body language often reveals a player’s mindset. “Penalty takers don’t walk like that, shift to one side and just pass the ball. People think penalties are easy, but they’re nerve-wracking,” she added.

Despite the miss, the Nigerian football legend urged fans not to single out Chukwueze for blame. “They shouldn’t crucify him. One team must win. He wasn’t the only one who missed — Bruno also missed,” she noted.

Akide further pointed to technical details, saying Chukwueze’s movement gave away his intention. “You could see it in his body movement. I told my husband I was scared. He showed the goalkeeper where he was going and didn’t lift his head at the final contact.”

She concluded with a message of support for the Villarreal winger. “They shouldn’t discourage him. He’s a young guy. Even then, it wasn’t an easy ball to save — the goalkeeper did his job, just like ours did.”