Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Spot In Spite of Fierce Tunisia Fightback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped his team establish a 3-0 advantage, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow win.
Nigeria survived a dramatic comeback attempt from their opponents to progress to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their Group C encounter in the Moroccan city, enjoying a 3-0 lead with just 17 minutes remaining thanks to goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
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 video assistant referee review identified a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to create a frantic finale.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a last-gasp leveler in stoppage time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi guided a half-volley past the goal frame.
Securing First Place
This result means that the Super Eagles, winners of the tournament on 3 past instances, advance to six points and are assured top spot in their pool with one game left to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will meet a best third-place team from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, Tunisia remain on 3 group points, with Uganda and Tanzania locked on a single point each after playing out a 1-1 stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding pool fixtures will see the group leaders remain in Fes to take on Uganda on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage return to Rabat to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Finish
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from 12 yards to give his team a glimmer of hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, finalists in the previous edition, become the next nation after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward last period transformed into a nerve-wracking conclusion.
Victor Osimhen had a effort disallowed for an infringement before opening the scoring right before the interval, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was doubled soon in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder rose highest to power home a header from a Lookman kick.
Osimhen then set up his teammate for the third goal, only for Montassar Talbi to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the fightback.
The pivotal incident came when a looping cross hit the forearm of the full-back, 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 recovery.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their own hands; a draw against Tunisia will be enough to see them through, and their coach will be keen to prevent a repeat of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.
