Six-time African Women’s Player of the Year, Asisat Oshoala, delivered an all-round dominant performance as Al Hilal overturned a first-leg deficit to defeat Al Ahli 5–1 in the second leg of the SAFF Women’s Cup on Friday, sealing a 6–3 aggregate victory.
Oshoala scored once and provided an assist in a dominant display that unveiled her importance to the Saudi giants.
The Super Falcons forward has now recorded 16 goal contributions across all competitions this season (13 goals and three assists) and this is the third match she will both score and assist in a single game.
Al Hilal entered the tie trailing 2–1 from the first leg and faced early danger when Naomie Kabakaba fired Al Ahli ahead in the 9th minute, briefly extending the hosts’ aggregate advantage.
However, Al Hilal steadied themselves when Jessica Silva equalised in the 18th minute, keeping the contest finely balanced.
Chebback Sets the Tone as Oshoala Takes Over
Moroccan captain and 2025 CAF Women’s Player of the Year, Ghizlane Chebback, swung in Al Hilal’s favour in the 61st minute, putting her side ahead on the night.
Eight minutes later, Oshoala delivered the decisive moment. In the 69th minute, she showed composure and vision to set up Fatimah Mansour, whose finish handed Al Hilal the aggregate lead for the first time in the tie.
Just two minutes later, Oshoala capped a blistering counter-attack.
Released by Al Bandari Mobarak, the Nigerian star weaved past three defenders before rifling home to make it 4–1 on the night, effectively killing off Al Ahli’s resistance.
Oshoala was later withdrawn to a standing ovation and replaced by Kheira Hamraoui, who added Al Hilal’s fifth goal, completing a dominant performance.
The victory continues the momentum Oshoala built earlier in the season, having scored back-to-back hat-tricks in the SAFF Women’s Challenge Cup, where Al Hilal reached the final before narrowly losing to Al Nassr.
Al Hilal will now refocus on league action, with a domestic clash against Al Qadsiah on Thursday, 29 January, as they look to sustain their impressive form.
“It’s Getting Boring Now” – Oshoala Takes On CAF
Barely hours after her on-field heroics, Oshoala turned her attention to off-field matters, launching a public critique of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over what she described as an over-concentration of tournaments and awards in Morocco.
Taking to social media platform X, the prolific striker questioned CAF’s continued reliance on the North African nation as host for major African football events.
“The big question here is when will this whole @CAF_Online compensation to Morocco end? Awards, tournaments and all… it’s getting boring now,” she posted.
“We need other countries to step up. Everything concerning African football happens in Morocco; it feels like that’s the new HQ.”
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Oshoala Pushes Nigeria, West Africa as AFCON Hosts
The Al Hilal forward went further, arguing that Nigeria and its West African neighbours possess both the geography and potential to successfully stage the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) through a collaborative hosting model.
“We can co-host with our neighbours if we are serious,” Oshoala asserted.
“Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Togo are all next door… you can’t tell me two of these five neighbouring countries can’t co-host AFCON.”
Her conversation is around CAF governance, hosting equity, and regional development, particularly as Morocco’s influence within African football continues to expand.
