Unity Cup: Debutant Azeez fires Super Eagles past Zimbabwe into final

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have booked their place in the final of the 2026 Unity Cup.

The three-time African champions romped to a confident 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe on Tuesday night, inspired by a brilliant debut from Femi Azeez.

The Millwall winger marked his first appearance for the Super Eagles with two well-taken goals at Charlton Athletic’s The Valley Stadium in London, giving head coach Eric Chelle a winning start in the four-nation tournament.

Azeez wasted little time announcing himself on the international stage. The 24-year-old opened the scoring in the fifth minute with a fine strike from just outside the penalty area after Nigeria started brightly against the Warriors.

The early goal settled the Super Eagles, who controlled large parts of the game with captain Terem Moffi leading the attack while youngsters Tochukwu Nnadi and Samson Tijani impressed in midfield.

Zimbabwe tried to respond after going behind, but Nigeria’s defence, marshalled by Igoh Ogbu and Chibuike Nwaiwu, remained composed throughout the first half.

The Super Eagles had a couple of chances but could only keep their slender lead intact at halftime.

Nigeria continued to dominate after the restart and eventually got the second goal in the 63rd minute through Azeez again.

The move started with Moffi, who burst into the box before unselfishly squaring the ball for the debutant to slot home his second goal of the night calmly.

The brace capped a memorable outing for Azeez, who recently enjoyed an impressive season with Millwall in the English Championship, where he recorded 17 goal contributions and earned a place in the division’s Team of the Season.

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Chelle later made changes in the second half, introducing Tosin Oyedokun and Owen Oseni for Philip Otele and Samson Tijani as Nigeria comfortably saw out the game.

Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo also impressed whenever called upon, helping the Super Eagles secure a clean sheet against a Zimbabwe side that had drawn twice with Nigeria during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The victory sends Nigeria into the Unity Cup final, where they will face the winner of the other semi-final between Jamaica and India.

For Chelle, the performance will be encouraging as he continues to test new players and build depth within the national team ahead of upcoming competitive fixtures.

But the night undoubtedly belonged to Azeez, whose dream debut has quickly turned him into one of the brightest talking points from Nigeria’s latest outing.