Nigeria Book Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Place In Spite of Late Carthage Eagles Comeback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped his team establish a commanding advantage, before the Super Eagles were compelled to hold on for a narrow victory.
Nigeria survived a dramatic comeback attempt from Tunisia to progress to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be in complete control in their pool encounter in the Moroccan city, enjoying a 3-0 lead with only a quarter of an hour left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The drama escalated when the North Africans were given a late penalty after a video assistant referee review spotted a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. The left-back converted in the 87th minute to set up a frantic conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a chance narrowly wide before a substitute guided a half-volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that Nigeria, champions of the competition on 3 past instances, move to six group 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 side from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, the 2004 champions stay on three points, with the East African teams tied on a single point after registering a one-all stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding pool fixtures will see Nigeria stay in Fes to play Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to the capital to face the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Conclusion
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from the penalty spot to give Tunisia a glimmer of hope of snatching a draw.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2023 tournament, are the next team after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a straightforward last period morphed into a nerve-wracking affair.
Victor Osimhen had a effort ruled out for an infringement before breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The advantage was doubled early in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.
Osimhen then set up Lookman for the third goal, before Montassar Talbi to direct a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the comeback.
The key incident came when a high ball hit the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although Ali Abdi's successful penalty, the 2004 champions ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their control; a point against Tanzania will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to avoid a repeat of the past group-stage exit that led to his departure.
