The Super Eagles Book Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 Spot In Spite of Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped Nigeria establish a commanding lead, before they were compelled to hold on for a hard-fought victory.
The three-time champions weathered a stunning comeback attempt from their opponents to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be cruising in their Group C encounter in Fes, holding a three-goal cushion with just a quarter of an hour remaining thanks to goals from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when Tunisia were given a late penalty after a VAR review identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a nail-biting conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a stunning equalizer in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a opportunity just past the post before a substitute sent a half-volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching First Place
The victory means that Nigeria, champions of the competition on three past instances, advance to 6 group points and are guaranteed top spot in their pool with one game left to play.
For the round of 16, they will face a third-placed team from either Group A, B or F.
In the other match, the 2004 champions remain on 3 points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on one point each after registering a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The final pool fixtures will see the group leaders remain in the city to take on the Cranes on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage return to Rabat to confront Tanzania.
An Anxious Conclusion
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from the penalty spot to give his team hope of earning a draw.
Nigeria, finalists in the previous edition, are the next team after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a comfortable last period morphed into a tense affair.
Victor Osimhen had a goal disallowed for offside before opening the scoring right before the interval, expertly guiding a header into the far post from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was extended early in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then set up his teammate for the third goal, only for the defender to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the fightback.
The key incident came when a looping cross struck the arm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although the defender's confident conversion, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their control; a point against Tanzania will be enough to secure progression, and their coach will be keen to prevent a recurrence of the past early elimination that led to his previous resignation.
