Nigeria Book Afcon Knockout Spot In Spite of Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in his team build a commanding lead, but the Super Eagles were compelled to defend resolutely for a hard-fought victory.
Nigeria survived a stunning late rally from their opponents to progress to the knockout stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be in complete control in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a three-goal cushion with just a quarter of an hour left thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
However, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were given a late penalty after a video assistant referee check spotted a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to create a nail-biting conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a stunning leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity narrowly wide before a substitute guided a half-volley past the upright.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that the Super Eagles, champions of the tournament on three previous occasions, move to six points and are guaranteed top spot in Group C with one game left to be contested.
In the next round, they will face a best third-place team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on three group points, with the East African teams tied on one point each after playing out a one-all stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group matches will see Nigeria remain in the city to take on the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to face the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Finish
The Tunisian defender drilled home from 12 yards to offer his team a glimmer of hope of earning a point.
Nigeria, finalists in the previous edition, become the next nation after Egypt to reach the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a straightforward final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
Victor Osimhen had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a glancing effort into the far post from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The advantage was doubled soon in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder rose highest to thump in 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 begin the fightback.
The pivotal moment came when a looping cross struck the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Although the defender's confident conversion, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a stirring recovery.
Their fate is still in their control; a draw against Tanzania will be enough to see them through, and their coach will be keen to prevent a recurrence of the 2013 group-stage exit that led to his departure.
