Super Eagles of Nigeria kick off their African Cup of Nations campaign on Tuesday evening in a dominant display against Taifa Stars of Tanzania, but could only secure a narrow 2-1 win in Fes, Morocco.

Their frustration against a team that refused to be blown away was apparent, and fans shared in the sentiment, although the latter would always believe the team could have done much better in certain areas, for the outcome to reflect dominance.

Overall, the result signifies a positive start, but here are five takeaways from the match, ones that may help Eric Chelle ascertain better control and improve performances in the future.

Five takeaways from Nigeria's 2025 AFCON opener 

1. A winning start, always a welcome positive

After failing to win their previous two games, with one ending their World Cup dreams, Super Eagles needed to win to restore belief, and they did just that to extend their unbeaten run in this fixture to nine.

Nigeria has never lost to Tanzania, winning five of eight meetings before Tuesday evening, including a 3-1 victory in the opening fixture of the 1980 AFCON tournament, where they were ultimately crowned champions for the first time ever.

Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman with the goals in either half, and between a Charles M'Mombwa's equalizer to secure all three points that took them to the Group C summit, before Tunisia beat Uganda to dethrone them.

2. Eric Chelle continues to prioritize the attackers

Victor Osimhen, Akor Adams, Samuel Chukwueze, Ademola Lookman, and Alex Iwobi were all included in the starting lineup for the clash with Tanzania, with captain Wilfred Ndidi the only pure midfielder.

In the past, the question has been about the country not having enough options in the middle of the park, but with the likes of Frank Onyeka, Raphael Onyedika, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, and Tochukwu Nnandi on the bench, it is clear that there is no longer an excuse.

With all his best attacking talents included in the starting lineup, the team not only lacks balance, but it also leaves Eric Chelle with no real gamechangers to introduce into the attack from the bench, a reality that may hurt when the tournament stretches.

In recent times, Moses Simon has experienced a dip in form with the national team, leading to a loss of his starting spot. He is no longer as reliable as he was, and was one of the big letdowns during the World Cup qualifiers playoff.

By playing with a shortage of midfielders, Chelle riska giving the stronger teams the pleasure of playing through his Super Eagles team with ease, and creating bigger troubles for the defence.

3. Nigeria can't just blow teams away

Only in their final group game of the World Cup qualifiers, which ended in a 4-0 thrashing of the Benin Republic, have the Super Eagles of Nigeria won a football game convincingly under Eric Chelle.

Nevertheless, this is not to portray that the team has been dominant in the matches during this period. Unfortunately, they have not been clinical enough to put away their chances and punish their opponents.

Against Tanzania, the Super Eagles had 21 shots with 11 of them on target, and created four big chances, but only managed to put one away.

In the end, they had to settle for a narrow win thanks to the well-timed goal from Ademola Lookman, as the inability to restore the lead immediately could have led to further frustrations, and maybe, opening the door for Tanzania to get away with something.

4. Alex Iwobi with more freedom will cook

Alex Iwobi set up both goals for the Super Eagles in the match, becoming the first player to register multiple assists in a single AFCON game for the country since Kanu Nwankwo against Tunisia in 2000.

The Fulham midfielder displayed the level of creativity that makes him rank among the best playmakers in the Premier League this season, but that was thanks to the dominant Eagles' display due to their less coordinated opponents.

Deployed as a central midfielder, Iwobi will have more difficulty expressing himself with so much space and freedom when Nigeria comes up against tougher teams, and may be overwhelmed by defensive responsibilities.

However, to keep him at his best, Eric Chelle will have to sacrifice one of the attackers and make room for one central midfielder to pair with Wilfred Ndidi, and then relieve Alex Iwobi of the defensive responsibilities, so he would have more freedom to roam and orchestrate play.

5. Victor Osimhen can do better 

It was a night to forget for Victor Osimhen, who was by some distance far away from the top striker he was, not only because of his inability to get among the goals, but also because of his body language, which gives off desperation.

Understandably, after finding the back of the net only once in seven games in the previous edition, the Galatasaray man must be eager to make up, especially given that it was his only goal at a major tournament for the Super Eagles.

His seven shots equaled the highest tally for a Nigerian player in a single game at AFCON since Victor Obina against Algeria in 2010 (also 7), but unlike Osimhen, Obina scored the only goal of the match.

Osimhen was wasteful. Seven shots attempted, and the three on target barely troubled the goalkeeper, while the other four were completely wayward, and his decision-making was very questionable.