Nigeria Secure Afcon Knockout Place In Spite of Late Tunisia Fightback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in Nigeria establish a commanding lead, but they were forced to hold on for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria weathered a stunning comeback attempt from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be in complete control in their pool clash in the Moroccan city, enjoying a three-goal cushion with only 17 minutes left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
However, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a powerful header from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a VAR check spotted a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back converted in the 87th minute to set up a nail-biting conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity just past the post before Ismael Gharbi guided a half-volley wide of the upright.
Clinching Top Spot
This result ensures that Nigeria, winners of the competition on three previous occasions, move to six points and are assured first place in Group C with a match still to play.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed team from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, Tunisia remain on 3 group points, with Uganda and Tanzania locked on one point after registering a 1-1 stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group fixtures will see Nigeria stay in Fes to play the Cranes on the next matchday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from the penalty spot to give Tunisia hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the previous tournament, are the next team after Egypt to qualify for the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will certainly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a straightforward final quarter morphed into a nerve-wracking affair.
Victor Osimhen had a effort ruled out for offside before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a glancing effort into the far post from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The advantage was doubled early in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to thump in a header from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then turned provider Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, before Montassar Talbi to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the comeback.
The key moment came when a high ball struck the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, the 2004 champions ultimately fell short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their own hands; a point against Tunisia will be sufficient to secure progression, and their coach will be keen to prevent a recurrence of the past early elimination that resulted in his departure.
