Nigeria Secure Afcon Knockout Place Despite Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria establish a 3-0 lead, but the Super Eagles were compelled to defend resolutely for a hard-fought victory.
The three-time champions weathered a stunning late rally from Tunisia to progress to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles appeared to be cruising in their Group C encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 lead with just a quarter of an hour left thanks to strikes from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
However, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The tension intensified when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a VAR review identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. The left-back converted in the dying stages to set up a frantic finale.
The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a stunning equalizer in stoppage time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity just past the post before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley past the upright.
Clinching First Place
The victory ensures that the Super Eagles, champions of the competition on 3 past instances, move to six group points and are assured top spot in Group C with one game still to play.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed side from one of Group A, B or F.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on three group 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 matches will see the group leaders stay in the city to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia return to Rabat to face Tanzania.
A Nervy Conclusion
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from 12 yards to give his team hope of earning a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the previous edition, are the second team after the Pharaohs to reach the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a comfortable final quarter transformed into a tense affair.
The prolific striker had a effort disallowed for an infringement before opening the scoring right before half-time, precisely placing a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was doubled early in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece corner.
Osimhen then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, only for the defender to direct a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the fightback.
The pivotal moment came when a high ball struck the forearm of the full-back, with the official pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of pulling off a stirring comeback.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their control; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to avoid a repeat of the past early elimination that led to his previous resignation.
