The Super Eagles Book Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 Place Despite Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped his team establish a 3-0 lead, before the Super Eagles were compelled to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions weathered a stunning comeback attempt from Tunisia to advance to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles appeared to be cruising in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 cushion with only 17 minutes left courtesy of goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
However, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder free-kick, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were given a late penalty after a VAR check identified a handball by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi converted in the dying stages to create a nail-biting conclusion.
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 past the goal frame.
Securing Top Spot
This result means that the Super Eagles, winners of the tournament on 3 past instances, move to six group points and are assured first place in Group C with one game still to play.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed side from either Group A, B or F.
In the other match, Tunisia remain on three points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on one point after playing out a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The final group fixtures will see Nigeria stay in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage return to the capital to confront Tanzania.
An Anxious Conclusion
Ali Abdi drilled home from the penalty spot to give his team hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the previous tournament, become the next nation after Egypt to qualify for the next phase, but their manager and fans will certainly 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 the interval, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The advantage was doubled soon in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, before Montassar Talbi to steer a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the comeback.
The key incident came when a looping cross hit the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite the defender's successful penalty, Tunisia ultimately fell short of completing a remarkable comeback.
Their fate remains in their control; a point against Tunisia 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.
