Nigeria Secure Afcon Last 16 Place Despite Late Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in Nigeria establish a 3-0 advantage, but they were compelled to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions weathered a dramatic comeback attempt from their opponents to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be cruising in their pool clash in the Moroccan city, holding a 3-0 lead with only a quarter of an hour left courtesy of strikes from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
Yet, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The drama intensified when the North Africans were awarded a late penalty after a VAR review identified a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to set up a nail-biting finale.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a last-gasp leveler in added time, with their skipper directing a opportunity narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi sent a bobbling volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching First Place
The victory means that Nigeria, winners of the competition on three past instances, move to 6 points and are assured top spot in their pool with one game still to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will meet a best third-place side from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on 3 group points, with the East African teams tied on one point after registering a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group matches will see the group leaders remain in the city to play Uganda on the next matchday, while Tunisia travel back to the capital to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Finish
The Tunisian defender smashed the ball from 12 yards to give his team a glimmer of hope of earning a point.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the previous edition, become the second team after Egypt to reach the knockout stage, but their manager and fans will certainly be feeling relieved.
What looked like set to be a straightforward last period transformed into a tense affair.
Victor Osimhen had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of the interval, precisely placing a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was doubled early in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.
Osimhen then set up his teammate for the third goal, before Montassar Talbi to direct a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the fightback.
The pivotal moment came when a looping cross struck the forearm of the full-back, with the official awarding a penalty after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, the 2004 champions in the end came up just short of pulling off a stirring comeback.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their control; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to avoid a repeat of the 2013 group-stage exit that led to his previous resignation.
