The Super Eagles Secure Afcon Knockout Spot In Spite of Late Carthage Eagles Comeback
Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in his team establish a 3-0 lead, before the Super Eagles were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought victory.
Nigeria weathered a dramatic comeback attempt from Tunisia to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be cruising in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a three-goal cushion with only 17 minutes left courtesy of goals from their attacking trio.
However, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when Tunisia were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR check spotted a handball by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the dying stages to create a nail-biting conclusion.
The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a opportunity narrowly wide before a substitute guided a bobbling volley past the goal frame.
Securing First Place
This result ensures that the Super Eagles, winners of the tournament on 3 past instances, move to 6 group points and are guaranteed top spot in their pool with a match still to play.
For the round of 16, they will meet a third-placed side from either Group A, B or F.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on 3 group points, with the East African teams locked on a single point after playing out a one-all draw earlier on Saturday.
The concluding pool fixtures will see the group leaders stay in Fes to take on the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Finish
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from the penalty spot to offer Tunisia a glimmer of hope of earning a point.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the previous tournament, become the second team after Egypt to qualify for the next phase, but their manager and fans will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What looked like set to be a comfortable last period transformed into a tense affair.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger delivery.
The advantage was extended early in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece corner.
Osimhen then turned provider his teammate for the third goal, before Montassar Talbi to steer a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.
The key incident arrived when a high ball hit the forearm of the full-back, with the official pointing to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although the defender's successful penalty, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their own hands; a point against Tanzania will be enough to see them through, and their coach will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the past early elimination that led to his departure.
