Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Place Despite Late Tunisia Fightback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped Nigeria build a commanding lead, but they were compelled to hold on for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria weathered a dramatic late rally from their opponents to advance to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be cruising in their Group C encounter in Fes, enjoying a three-goal cushion with only 17 minutes remaining courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were given a spot-kick after a video assistant referee review spotted a handball by the Nigerian defender. The left-back calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to create a frantic finale.
Tunisia were inches away from a stunning leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi guided a half-volley wide of the upright.
Clinching First Place
This result means that Nigeria, winners of the tournament on three previous occasions, move to 6 points and are guaranteed top spot in Group C with one game still to play.
In the next round, they will face a best third-place team from either Group A, B or F.
Meanwhile, Tunisia stay on 3 points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on one point after playing out a 1-1 stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The concluding group matches will see Nigeria remain in the city to play the Cranes on the next matchday, while Tunisia return to Rabat to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender drilled home from the penalty spot to give his team hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2023 edition, become the second team after the Pharaohs to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be feeling relieved.
What looked like set to be a comfortable final quarter morphed into a nerve-wracking conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for offside before opening the scoring right before half-time, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was doubled early in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi rose highest to thump in a header from a Lookman kick.
Osimhen then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, before the defender to steer a header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the fightback.
The pivotal incident arrived when a high ball hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite Ali Abdi's successful penalty, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their own hands; a point against Tunisia will be sufficient to secure progression, and their coach will be keen to avoid a recurrence of the past early elimination that resulted in his departure.
