The Super Eagles Secure Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 Spot In Spite of Fierce Tunisia Fightback
Former African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star helped Nigeria establish a commanding advantage, but they were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria survived a dramatic comeback attempt from Tunisia to advance to the knockout stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in the host nation.
The Super Eagles seemed to be in complete control in their Group C encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 cushion with just a quarter of an hour left courtesy of goals from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking 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 the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to set up a nail-biting finale.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a stunning leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a opportunity narrowly wide before a substitute sent a bobbling volley wide of the upright.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory ensures that the Super Eagles, champions of the tournament on three past instances, move to six group points and are guaranteed top spot in Group C with a match left to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will face a best third-place side from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions remain on 3 group points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on a single point after registering a 1-1 stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The final group matches will see Nigeria stay in the city to play Uganda on the next matchday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to face the Taifa Stars.
A Nervy Conclusion
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from 12 yards to offer his team a glimmer of hope of snatching a point.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the previous edition, are the second team after Egypt to reach the next phase, but their manager and fans will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward final quarter morphed into a tense affair.
Victor Osimhen had a goal ruled out for offside before breaking the deadlock right before 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 Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a header from a set-piece corner.
Osimhen then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, before Montassar Talbi to direct a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.
The key moment came when a high ball hit the arm of the full-back, with the official pointing to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor.
Despite Ali Abdi's confident conversion, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable recovery.
Their fate is still in their control; a point against Tunisia will be enough to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that led to his departure.
