After finishing as runners-up in the last edition, losing to the Ivory Coast in 2023, Nigeria head into their opening group match against Tanzania knowing that there is an untold amount of pressure on their shoulders to capture their first AFCON title since 2013.
And the hopes of a nation will rest mainly on one man: Victor Osimhen.
Despite plying his trade in the Turkish Super Lig for Galatasaray - where he has quickly become a club icon with the record 25-time champions - Osimhen is undoubtedly one of the very best strikers in the world, and deserves to be mentioned among the cream of the crop.
But his story wasn't straightforward. The tale of Osimhen includes hardships and struggles, but eventually, also greatness.
Who is Victor Osimhen?
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Osimhen grew up in the community of Olususon - an area that is most well known for being the site of a garbage dump, and it is said to receive up to 10,000 tonnes of rubbish per day.
"Before I rose to fame, my childhood was really tough. I came from a very poor background. It is a place that is not promised," Osimhen said in an interview with UEFA.
"Me and my friends used to go there (to the rubbish dump) to look for a pair of shoes. You get the right leg, one brand, and the left leg, another brand. You just put everything together, you take it home, you wash it, you put it in the sun, and the next day you can use it to play.
"This place is what shaped me to become the kind of person I am today."
Osimhen had a tough childhood. The youngest of seven siblings, his mother passed away when he was very young.
"It hasn't been easy for us, the struggle hasn't been easy. Seven of us were living in one room, sleeping together in one room," his sister, Blessing, said.
"The memory of this place is very difficult for me to say. Because of the hardship we went through, at times we don't eat. We struggled to make a living. The people who stood by us - there were few. There was nobody to help."
"I lost my mum at a very young age. My older brother called from the village. He said my mum slept and never woke up. And then when she left, it was really tough for the family, and then my dad had to go outside to look for jobs, to make sure we are fed every day," Osimhen continued.
"We had to do something. Football was the only escape route for me and my family to make sure I do everything I could, to make sure I can get them out of poverty."
Osimhen's first coach, Paul Erikewe, spotted his talent immediately, promoting him to the first team to play for Olusosun United.
"Victor was young when he lost his mother. I saw Victor play street ball in the community at the age of nine or 10 years old. Right from the onset, when I spotted him, I used my eagle eye to see that in the future he would be a great player," Erikewe said.
"So I invited him to my academy, and today, the rest is history."
Bigger, stronger, and better than anyone else, Osimhen was eventually called up to the Nigeria U17 team. At the U17 World Cup, he went on to be the top goalscorer with 10 goals as they clinched the title.
Moving to Europe
His performance caught the eyes of several European teams. As a result, Osimhen made the move to Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, but health and injury issues meant his career stalled.
So in 2018, he transferred to Belgian side Charleroi on loan, with several other clubs unwilling to take a gamble on the striker.
And he repaid their trust, scoring 20 goals in 36 games. Wolfsburg attempted to keep him, but with a purchase option in the deal, Charleroi paid €3 million to sign him, before immediately selling him for €15 million to Lille.
Osimhen once again shone for Lille, bagging 13 goals in Ligue 1 and 18 in all competitions. He also netted his first two Champions League goals, including one against Chelsea. His performances led to him being named Lille's Player of the Season.
Record Napoli move
His stock was beginning to rise, and Napoli had taken notice. This was a striker that they couldn't afford to miss out on.
Consequently, the Serie A side paid a club record fee - which stands to this day - to sign Osimhen. The deal was reported to be between €70 million and €80 million.
At 21 years old, Osimhen took a couple of seasons to settle at a club of the magnitude of Napoli. Injury problems, suffering with COVID and playing at AFCON meant he failed to really gather any momentum.
In November 2021, he was on the receiving end of a shocking head injury against Inter Milan, in which he fractured his skull and eye socket. That was the moment the masked version of Osimhen that you see today was born.
Despite these setbacks, he still managed to score 28 goals in 62 games in his first two campaigns.
But the 2022/23 season was when Osimhen really introduced himself to the world.
During an astonishing campaign, Osimhen scored 26 goals in Serie A to guide Napoli to just their third league title, and their first since 1990. Forming a sensational partnership with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Nigerian ended the season as the league's top goalscorer, writing himself into Napoli folklore.
He also bagged five times in the Champions League, as they reached the quarter-finals for the first time.
In addition, he became the top-scoring African player in Serie A history, surpassing George Weah's previous best (46).
So things appeared perfect for Osimhen at Napoli. He was revered and celebrated by the fans. However, things suddenly went downhill.
Even though he scored 15 goals in 25 league games during the 2023/24 season, it was another stop-start season, as he went to AFCON and suffered from more injuries. Napoli's title defence also went shockingly, finishing 10th in Serie A.
Yet he still penned a new contract in December, which included a €130 million release clause.
But his relationship with the club had soured significantly to the point of no return when the official Napoli social media account decided to mock him for missing a penalty, which included a shockingly disrespectful post, much to the anger of Osimhen and his agent.
With the appointment of Antonio Conte in the summer, too, a coach who wanted to be reunited with striker Romelu Lukaku, a separation was on the cards.
However, during the summer transfer window, Osimhen wasn't able to get the move he desired. He wasn't totally keen on a move to Saudi Arabian outfit Al Ahli, while Chelsea baulked at the fee Napoli asked for, as well as the player's salary.
So on Deadline Day, both moves broke down, and he had to remain at Napoli. With the Italian giants having no interest in reintegrating him into the squad, and Osimhen unhappy with how Club President Aurelio de Laurentiis handled his sale, he was stuck in limbo.
Not all doors were closed, though.
Galatasaray icon
While the transfer windows closed for the majority of leagues, in Turkey, it remained open for a few more weeks.
An opportunity arose for Turkish giants Galatasaray. Osimhen wasn't going to play a minute for Napoli, but he had to go somewhere unless he wanted to remain in the lurch.
So Galatasaray swooped in, agreed a deal to take the Nigerian on loan for the season, sealing one of the biggest signings in their history.
Big-name players had moved to Turkey before. Wesley Sneijder, Didier Drogba and Gheorghe Hagi, to name just a few.
But with them, they were either heading into the twilight of their career or already in it. Never had the country seen a player as good as Osimhen, while being at the peak of his powers, arrive.
He received a hero's welcome at the airport in Istanbul. Hundreds of fans awaited him, singing his name and letting him know what he would be in for.
"I arrived in Istanbul - I have never seen this in my life before," Osimhen said. "For me, when I saw this, it was like a fresh breeze came over me."
It is safe to say that Osimhen didn't look back from that moment. An incredible debut season saw him win the Golden Boot, netting 26 goals in 30 Super Lig games, while also scoring 37 in 41 in all competitions. In doing so, he set the record for most goals scored in a single Turkish season by a foreign player.
He guided Galatasaray to a record-extending 25th Super Lig crown, fending off arch-rivals Fenerbahce. They also managed to get their hands on the Turkish Cup. One of the best players to ever set foot in the Super Lig, he became an instant icon.
But what next? With his loan coming to an end, would Osimhen remain in Istanbul or head off for pastures new in one of the top five leagues?
For Osimhen, there was only one choice. Despite huge offers from Al Hilal and interest from Serie A, he had fallen in love with Galatasaray, just as Galatasaray had fallen in love with him.
"Gala is big. But I didn't know how big it was until I was inside. You just have the fire in you to make sure that for every sweat you give, you give for the badge," the 26-year-old said.
"It was beautiful, you know. This is where I want to go, and where I want to be."
Galatasaray moved mountains to bring him home. They absolutely obliterated the Super Lig transfer record, spending a whopping €75 million to seal his permanent signature.
To showcase the lengths to which the club went, the previous transfer record in Turkey was €20 million (Youssef En-Nesyri to Fenerbahce).
And we arrive at the present day.
It has been another super season for Osimhen. He has six goals in four Champions League games, with only Kylian Mbappe scoring more. His three goals against Ajax meant he became the first foreign player to score a hat-trick in the competition for Galatasaray.
He also overtook Obafemi Martins as Nigeria's all-time top scorer in European competitions, helping Galatasaray sit comfortably in the play-off places.
In the league, the yellow and reds are at the summit, three points ahead of their nearest rivals as they eye a fourth-straight Super Lig title. Osimhen has contributed six league goals, and they will certainly miss him while he is in Morocco.
Why Osimhen is so important to Nigeria
Osimhen is by far and away Nigeria's best player, and one of the very best at the tournament. If they want to win AFCON, they will need him in red-hot form.
With 31 goals for Nigeria, the Galatasaray striker is closing in on becoming their all-time top goalscorer, just six goals behind Rashidi Yekini.
Osimhen has five goals in his last three appearances for his nation, as his hat-trick against Benin and double against Gabon were vital as they reached the World Cup qualifying playoff final.
However, when he was substituted at half-time of that final with an injury, it felt like the turning point as their dreams of qualifying for sport's biggest competition came to an end.
Osimhen's style of play is relentless. He is a freakish athlete who can feed on scraps better than anyone. His pressing, hold-up play, aerial ability and energy are so valuable to a team, especially for Nigeria, who often play long into him.
For club and country, he is a major asset from goal kicks. While he does most of his work in central areas, he often drifts out to the left-hand side of the pitch to target smaller, less physical players, so when the goalkeeper sends the ball up, he is easily able to take it down and start attacks that way.
While not always the most clinical, his ability to get into so many goalscoring positions and have so many shots is unmatched by anyone due to his physical traits, meaning he is a guarantee to score goals.
In the Super Lig last season, no player had more shots than Osimhen (138), 20 more than the player in second. While he scored the most goals in the league (26), he also had the most big chances missed (26), illustrating the previous point.
AFCON tends to be quite a chaotic tournament, with the game played very directly and with a lot of physicality. So Osimhen's strengths make him even more valuable to Nigeria.
Even though he scored just a single goal at the last AFCON, that doesn't go to show how influential he was for his nation as they went on to reach the final. Nigeria weren't creating many chances for him at all, but his all-round game was immense.
They will be hoping that he can perform like that again, but this time, produce more goals.
An international tournament triumph would mean so much to Nigeria, but also to Osimhen. The nation's great hope, he has felt pressure all his life, so this will be nothing new. But after all he has been through, this would surely be his crowning glory.
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