Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Spot In Spite of Fierce Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria establish a 3-0 advantage, but they were compelled to hold on for a narrow win.
Nigeria survived a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be cruising in their pool clash in Fes, holding a three-goal lead with only a quarter of an hour remaining courtesy of goals from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder free-kick, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when the North Africans were given a spot-kick after a VAR review identified a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to create a nail-biting finale.
The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a stunning leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a opportunity narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi sent a half-volley past the goal frame.
Securing Top Spot
The victory means that the Super Eagles, winners of the tournament on 3 past instances, advance to 6 points and are assured top spot in Group C with a match left to play.
For the round of 16, they will meet a best third-place team from one of Group A, B or F.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on three group points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on a single point each after playing out a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The final pool matches will see the group leaders stay in the city to take on Uganda on the next matchday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to confront Tanzania.
A Nervy Finish
Ali Abdi drilled home from 12 yards to offer his team a glimmer of hope of earning a draw.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the 2023 tournament, become the next nation after the Pharaohs to reach the next phase, but their manager and fans will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a comfortable last period transformed into a nerve-wracking conclusion.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of the interval, precisely placing a header into the far post from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The lead was doubled early in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a header from a Lookman corner.
Osimhen then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, only for the defender to direct a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the fightback.
The key incident came when a high ball struck the arm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite the defender's successful penalty, Tunisia in the end fell short of completing a stirring comeback.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their own hands; a draw against Tanzania will be enough to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to prevent a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.
