Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Place Despite Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped his team establish a commanding lead, but the Super Eagles were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions survived a dramatic late rally from their opponents to progress to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament being held in the host nation.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their Group C clash in Fes, enjoying a three-goal lead with only 17 minutes left thanks to goals from their attacking trio.
However, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The tension intensified when Tunisia were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR check spotted a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to create a nail-biting finale.
Tunisia were inches away from a stunning leveler in added time, with their skipper heading a chance narrowly wide before a substitute sent a bobbling volley wide of the upright.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that the Super Eagles, champions of the competition on three past instances, move to six group points and are guaranteed first place in Group C with one game left to play.
For the round of 16, they will meet a best third-place side from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, Tunisia stay on three points, with the East African teams locked on a single point after playing out a one-all stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding pool matches will see Nigeria remain in the city to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia return to the capital to face the Taifa Stars.
A Nervy Finish
The Tunisian defender drilled home from 12 yards to give his team hope of snatching a draw.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2023 edition, become the next team after the Pharaohs to qualify for the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a straightforward final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
Victor Osimhen had a goal ruled out 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 period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to power home a header from a Lookman kick.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the third goal, before the defender to direct a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the fightback.
The key incident came when a looping cross hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after consulting the pitchside screen.
Despite Ali Abdi's confident conversion, the 2004 champions in the end came up just short of completing a remarkable recovery.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their own hands; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and their coach will be eager to prevent a repeat of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.
