Nigeria Secure Afcon Knockout Spot In Spite of Late Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped his team build a commanding lead, but they were compelled to hold on for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria weathered a stunning late rally from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be in complete control in their Group C encounter in Fes, enjoying a three-goal cushion with only 17 minutes left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The tension escalated when the North Africans were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR check identified a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. Ali Abdi converted in the dying stages to set up a nail-biting finale.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley wide of the goal frame.
Securing Top Spot
This result means that Nigeria, champions of the competition on 3 past instances, move to six group points and are guaranteed top spot in Group C with a match still to play.
In the next round, they will meet a best third-place team from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, Tunisia remain on three points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on a single point each after playing out a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday.
The final group fixtures will see Nigeria remain in Fes to take on Uganda on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender smashed the ball from 12 yards to offer Tunisia a glimmer of hope of earning a draw.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the previous tournament, are the second nation after the Pharaohs to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be feeling relieved.
What looked like set to be a comfortable final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a effort disallowed for offside before breaking the deadlock right before half-time, precisely placing a header into the far post from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was doubled soon in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a Lookman corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, before Montassar Talbi to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the fightback.
The pivotal incident came when a high ball struck the arm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official awarding a penalty after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Although Ali Abdi's successful penalty, Tunisia ultimately fell short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Their fate is still in their control; a draw against Tanzania will be enough to secure progression, and their coach will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his departure.
