Nigeria Book Afcon Knockout Place In Spite of Fierce Tunisia Fightback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in his team establish a 3-0 lead, but they were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought victory.
Nigeria weathered a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations being held in the host nation.
Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be cruising in their Group C encounter in Fes, holding a three-goal lead with only 17 minutes remaining courtesy of goals from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a video assistant referee check identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi converted in the 87th minute to create a frantic conclusion.
Tunisia were inches away from a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi sent a half-volley past the upright.
Securing First Place
The victory ensures that the Super Eagles, champions of the competition on three previous occasions, advance to 6 group points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with a match still to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will meet a best third-place team from one of Group A, B or F.
In the other match, Tunisia remain on three points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on one point each after playing out a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The final pool fixtures will see the group leaders stay in Fes to play Uganda on the next matchday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to face the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender smashed the ball from the penalty spot to give his team hope of snatching a point.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the previous tournament, are the next team after the Pharaohs to qualify for the knockout stage, but their manager and supporters will certainly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a straightforward final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
Victor Osimhen had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring right before the interval, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The advantage was doubled early in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a header from a Lookman corner.
Osimhen then turned provider his teammate for the third goal, before Montassar Talbi to direct a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the comeback.
The pivotal incident came when a looping cross hit the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Despite Ali Abdi's confident conversion, Tunisia ultimately fell short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their control; a point against Tanzania will be sufficient to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to avoid a repeat of the past early elimination that resulted in his previous resignation.
