Nigeria Book Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Place In Spite of Fierce Carthage Eagles Comeback
Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria establish a 3-0 advantage, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow victory.
Nigeria survived a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in the host nation.
The Super Eagles seemed to be in complete control in their pool encounter in Fes, enjoying a three-goal lead with only 17 minutes left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
However, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were given a late penalty after a VAR check spotted a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a nail-biting finale.
Tunisia were inches away from a last-gasp equalizer in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity narrowly wide before a substitute sent a half-volley wide of the upright.
Clinching First Place
The victory means that the Super Eagles, winners of the tournament on three previous occasions, advance to 6 group points and are assured top spot in Group C with one game left to be contested.
In the next round, they will meet a best third-place side from one of Group A, B or F.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions remain on 3 group points, with the East African teams locked on a single point after registering a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday.
The final group matches will see Nigeria stay in Fes to take on Uganda on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage return to Rabat to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Finish
Ali Abdi smashed home from 12 yards to offer his team a glimmer of hope of snatching a draw.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the previous edition, are the next team after the Pharaohs to reach the knockout stage, but their manager and fans will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a comfortable final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal disallowed for offside before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, precisely placing a header into the far post from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The advantage was doubled early in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder rose highest to thump in a header from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the third goal, only for the defender to steer a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the fightback.
The key moment arrived when a looping cross hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official pointing to the spot after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Although Ali Abdi's successful penalty, the 2004 champions in the end came up just short of completing a stirring recovery.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their control; a point against Tanzania will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to prevent a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that led to his previous resignation.
