Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Place In Spite of Late Tunisia Comeback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria establish a 3-0 advantage, before the Super Eagles were compelled to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions survived a stunning comeback attempt from Tunisia to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be cruising in their pool clash in Fes, holding a three-goal cushion with only a quarter of an hour left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
However, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when the North Africans were given a late penalty after a VAR check identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a frantic finale.
The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a last-gasp leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a chance just past the post before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley past the upright.
Clinching First Place
This result means that the Super Eagles, winners of the tournament on 3 past instances, move to 6 points and are guaranteed top spot in Group C with a match left to play.
In the next round, they will face a best third-place side from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, Tunisia stay on three points, with the East African teams tied on a single point each after playing out a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The concluding pool matches will see the group leaders stay in Fes to play Uganda on the next matchday, while the Eagles of Carthage return to Rabat to face the Taifa Stars.
A Nervy Conclusion
Ali Abdi smashed home from 12 yards to give his team a glimmer of hope of earning a draw.
Nigeria, runners-up in the previous edition, become the second nation 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 straightforward final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring right before half-time, precisely placing a header into the far post from an Atalanta winger delivery.
The lead was doubled soon in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder rose highest to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.
Osimhen then turned provider Lookman for the third goal, before Montassar Talbi to steer a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the fightback.
The pivotal incident came when a high ball struck the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official pointing to the spot after consulting the pitchside screen.
Although the defender's confident conversion, Tunisia ultimately fell short of completing a remarkable comeback.
Their fate is still in their control; a draw against Tanzania will be sufficient to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to avoid a repeat of the 2013 early elimination that resulted in his previous resignation.
