Femi Azeez could not have asked for a better start to his international career. Two goals in his first 90 minutes for the Super Eagles, both assisted by Terem Moffi, and a place in the 2026 Unity Cup final already secured.
Millwall winger Femi Azeez announced himself to Nigerian football fans in the most emphatic way possible on Tuesday, scoring twice on his Super Eagles debut as Nigeria beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in the semi final of the 2026 Unity Cup at The Valley in London. Azeez, who had six Premier League clubs tracking him before this tournament, took just five minutes to open his international account and doubled the lead in the 63rd minute to send Eric Chelle’s side into Saturday’s final. New fans who want to follow the Super Eagles in the Unity Cup final can claim the Bet9ja’s current YOHAIG code before kick-off on Saturday.
Terem Moffi was the architect of both goals, laying off the first with a precise pass and then squaring from the left for Azeez to slot home from close range in the second. The result also ends Zimbabwe’s long wait to record a meaningful result against Nigeria. The Warriors have not beaten the Super Eagles since a 2-0 win in a 1981 friendly, and they have now lost their most recent meeting by the same scoreline Nigeria inflicted on them at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations group stage.
Four Debutants in the Starting XI
Chelle named four players making their first competitive starts for the senior national team. Arsenal goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo took the gloves, with Enugu Rangers’ Chibueze Oputa and Obinna Igbokwe also handed their first appearances in green and white alongside Azeez in the starting lineup. The message from the head coach was unambiguous: this tournament exists to find new faces, and those faces will be thrown straight into the deep end. Fans looking to follow Azeez and the other debutants in the Premier League next season can check the Bet9ja EPL betting page for the best pre-season offers as the transfer window opens.
The full starting lineup read Arthur Okonkwo, Alhassan Abdullahi, Tochukwu Nnadi, Samson Tijani, Philip Otele, Chibuike Nwaiwu, Igoh Ogbu, Chibueze Oputa, Obinna Igbokwe, Terem Moffi and Femi Azeez. Three more players made their debuts from the bench as the second half progressed, Ikorodu City midfielder Aderemi Adeoye, Plymouth Argyle’s Owen Oseni, and Pisa striker Rafiu Durosinmi all came on and wore the green and white jersey for the first time.
The Goals in Detail
The opening goal was made and finished with clarity. Moffi received the ball in the right channel and slid a low pass into the path of Azeez, who took one touch and fired a left footed shot into the bottom of the net in the fifth minute. Zimbabwe had barely settled before they were behind. The second goal had a similar shape to it. Nigeria broke down the left flank in the 63rd minute, Moffi carried the ball to the byline and cut it back, and Azeez arrived to roll it home from close range. Two goals, two assists for Moffi, and a debut brace that will dominate Nigerian football conversations for days.
The result sets up a final on Saturday against the winner of the second semi-final between Jamaica and India. Both the Super Eagles and Zimbabwe have bigger prizes in their sights beyond this tournament. They are using the Unity Cup as preparation for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Nigeria are in Group L alongside co-hosts Tanzania, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, while Zimbabwe face DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone in Group E. Supporters planning to follow Nigeria’s AFCON qualifying campaign from the first fixture can secure their account with the the YOHAIG Bet9ja promo code before the draw dates are confirmed.
What Comes Next for Azeez
The timing of a two-goal debut could not be better calibrated for the transfer market. Azeez already had Everton, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Brighton, Fulham and Sunderland watching him. He has now added an international scoring record to a Championship season in which he finished with 11 goals and eight assists. Millwall’s asking price of around 20 million euros will not soften after this, and Saturday’s final gives him another 90 minutes of visibility in a city where half the Premier League’s scouts are based. Eric Chelle has found his new wide option. The question now is which club will pay to make that option a weekly reality.
📌 Did You Know?
- Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Zimbabwe on Tuesday is the first Super Eagles victory against the Warriors since a 2-0 group stage result at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, a gap of exactly 20 years between winning results against the same opposition.
- Arthur Okonkwo, who started in goal for Nigeria against Zimbabwe, plays for Arsenal in the Premier League. He is the son of Nigerian parents and had been eligible to represent Nigeria for several years before the NFF and Eric Chelle moved to bring him into the squad for the Unity Cup.
- Enugu Rangers duo Chibueze Oputa and Obinna Igbokwe both made their senior international debuts in the same match, marking an unusually high representation from a single NPFL club in a Super Eagles starting lineup. Rangers won the NPFL title this season with 68 points.
- Ikorodu City’s Aderemi Adeoye, who came on as a substitute, is one of the few home-based players to earn a Super Eagles call-up in recent years. Ikorodu City are a Lagos-based NPFL club who have been steadily building a reputation for developing technically gifted midfielders through their academy setup.
- Owen Oseni, who made his debut from the bench, plays for Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Championship. He is one of several British born Nigerian players Eric Chelle has targeted as part of a deliberate policy to expand the talent pool available to the Super Eagles beyond the traditional European professional leagues.
- Terem Moffi, who set up both of Azeez’s goals, has now registered assists in back to back Super Eagles appearances after a difficult period in which his place in the national team setup had been questioned. His link-up with Azeez in the first half hour suggested a partnership Chelle will want to develop further.
- The 2026 Unity Cup is being held at The Valley, the home stadium of Charlton Athletic in southeast London. The ground holds just over 27,000 supporters and has a long association with African football heritage, having hosted matches involving African national teams in various exhibition tournaments since the 1990s.
