The Super Eagles forward came off the bench to net a late finish at Estádio do Dragão, opening his account for FC Porto and handing coach Francesco Farioli a selection headache ahead of a crucial European run-in.
Watch: Moffi’s First Porto Goal
A Goal That Changes the Conversation
Porto are locked in a tight Liga Portugal title race, and every point matters. Friday’s 3-1 victory keeps their push alive, but arguably the bigger development from the night is what Moffi’s goal does to Farioli’s team selection calculations going forward.
The 26-year-old from Calabar has been patient since joining the Dragons. With Samu Aghehowa sidelined through injury, it was Deniz Gül who got first refusal in the central striking role. But Moffi showed in ten minutes what he can offer: physical presence, movement into the box, and the composure to finish under pressure. That’s not easy to ignore.
Porto have their UEFA Europa League round of 16 coming up in two weeks. Farioli will need to rotate, and Moffi’s timing couldn’t have been better. The Nigerian has a real pedigree in European competition, having scored nine goals across UEFA club competitions with Nice and Lorient. He knows what these stages demand.
The Long Road to the Estádio do Dragão
It’s worth remembering how far Moffi has come to get to this point. He left Calabar as a teenager to attend the Buckswood Football Academy in Hastings, England. From there, he moved to Lithuania with Kauno Žalgiris and then Riteriai, where he scored 20 goals in 29 league matches. That kind of record in any league attracts attention.
Belgian club Kortrijk picked him up in 2020, and a year later, Lorient brought him to Ligue 1. He was brilliant in France, scoring 34 goals in 87 league appearances for Lorient before moving to Nice for a reported obligation-to-buy fee of €30 million. At Nice, he became the club’s top scorer in the 2023/24 season with 11 Ligue 1 goals.
The last few months at Nice, however, were rough. In November 2025, Moffi was among several Nice players physically attacked by angry supporters after the team’s 3-1 loss to Lorient. He was placed on sick leave for a week. The Porto move wasn’t just a football decision; it was a fresh start. And on Friday night, he got exactly that.
Analysis: What This Means for Moffi and the Super Eagles
Moffi has 19 caps and four goals for Nigeria. He was part of the Super Eagles squad that reached the 2023 AFCON final in the Ivory Coast and has been in and out of the national team picture since. A run of consistent form at a club of Porto’s stature could make him impossible to leave out of the next Eagles squad.
Nigeria’s striking options have been a talking point for a while. Victor Osimhen remains the undisputed first choice, but the players behind him have struggled for regular club minutes. Moffi, now in a Champions League-level setup in Portugal and clearly hungry to prove himself, could push his way back into that conversation quickly.
The Europa League platform is the critical piece. If he scores in the round of 16, his stock goes up. Clubs from the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A closely monitor those games. This could be the window Moffi has been waiting for, the run that defines the next chapter of his career.
Can Farioli Afford to Keep Him on the Bench?
Francesco Farioli is known for measured, system-first selections. He won’t change his approach based on one moment. But a goal in the 90th-plus minutes of a tight league game, finishing a move created by the player who assists him, sends a clear message to the coaching staff.
Moffi is 26. He’s at the age where strikers often hit their peak productivity. He’s got experience across Lithuania, Belgium, France, and now Portugal. He’s not a project; he’s a ready-made option who just needed the opportunity. Farioli now has to decide whether to keep trusting Gül or hand the Nigerian a genuine run of starts.
With European football on the horizon and Bet9ja’s 170% accumulator boost giving Nigerian punters excellent value to back Moffi in goalscorer markets across Porto’s upcoming fixtures, the stage is set for a fascinating run-in.
As FootballInNigeria.com.ng has tracked throughout this transfer window, Moffi’s move to Porto was always about more than a short-term fix. The €8 million buy clause tells you Porto are serious about this. One goal doesn’t seal a permanent deal, but it starts the conversation.
What’s Next
Porto’s Europa League round of 16 is two weeks away. In the Primeira Liga, they continue their title push amid the pressure of a tight standings battle, with every game pushed to the edge. Moffi will be hoping Friday’s goal is the first of several, and given everything he’s been through to get to this point, it’s hard not to want him to deliver.
He celebrated with real relief. That’s what this goal meant.
📌 Did You Know?
- Moffi’s father, Leo, was a professional footballer in Nigeria who played as a goalkeeper, making Terem a genuine second-generation football professional.
- Before joining Porto, Moffi won the UEFA Europa Conference League Goal of the Season award for the 2022/23 campaign while at OGC Nice, a remarkable individual honour.
- Moffi scored 20 goals in just 29 league games for Lithuanian club Riteriai, the run that first put European clubs on notice about his finishing ability.
- His transfer from Lorient to Nice in January 2023 came with a reported obligation-to-buy fee of €30 million and a 15% sell-on clause in favour of Lorient, reflecting his high rating at the time.
- Moffi was initially left out of Nigeria’s 2023 AFCON squad by coach José Peseiro but was later called up as a replacement for the injured Victor Boniface, going on to reach the final with the Super Eagles.
- He is one of two Nigerians currently in Porto’s squad, alongside left-back Zaidu Sanusi, making the Estádio do Dragão a sort of Nigerian enclave in Portuguese football.
- Across his club career in European competition (Champions League, Europa League, Conference League), Moffi has registered nine goals in 11 appearances, a record that will give Porto confidence heading into their Europa League knockout rounds.
