Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Spot Despite Late Tunisia Fightback
Former African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in his team build a commanding advantage, before they were compelled to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions weathered a dramatic late rally from their opponents to progress to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be cruising in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 lead with only a quarter of an hour remaining thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The tension escalated when the North Africans were given a spot-kick after a video assistant referee review spotted a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a nail-biting conclusion.
Tunisia were inches away from a last-gasp leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a opportunity just past the post before Ismael Gharbi sent a bobbling volley past the upright.
Securing First Place
This result means that the Super Eagles, champions of the competition on three previous occasions, advance to six group points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with a match still to play.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed side from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on 3 points, with the East African teams tied on a single point each after playing out a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday.
The final pool fixtures will see the group leaders remain in the city to take on Uganda on the next matchday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Finish
Ali Abdi drilled the ball from the penalty spot to offer his team hope of earning a draw.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the 2023 edition, are the next team after Egypt to qualify for the next phase, but their manager and fans will certainly be feeling relieved.
What looked like set to be a comfortable final quarter morphed into a tense conclusion.
Victor Osimhen had a goal disallowed for an infringement before breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The advantage was doubled soon in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi rose highest to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, before the defender to steer a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the comeback.
The key incident came when a high ball struck the arm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after consulting the pitchside screen.
Despite Ali Abdi's confident conversion, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a stirring recovery.
Their fate remains in their own hands; a point against Tunisia will be enough to secure progression, and their coach will be keen to prevent a repeat of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.
