Nigeria Secure Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Spot In Spite of Late Tunisia Comeback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen helped his team establish a 3-0 advantage, but the Super Eagles were forced to hold on for a narrow win.
The three-time champions survived a dramatic late rally from their opponents to advance to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles appeared to be cruising in their Group C clash in Fes, enjoying a three-goal cushion with just a quarter of an hour left thanks to strikes from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
However, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were given a spot-kick after a VAR review identified a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back converted in the dying stages to create a frantic conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a stunning leveler in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a opportunity narrowly wide before a substitute guided a bobbling volley past the upright.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that Nigeria, winners of the competition on 3 previous occasions, move to six points and are assured top spot in Group C with one game left to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will face a best third-place team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on 3 points, with the East African teams tied on one point each after playing out a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The concluding pool fixtures will see the group leaders remain in Fes to play Uganda on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to confront Tanzania.
An Anxious Finish
Ali Abdi smashed home from 12 yards to offer Tunisia a glimmer of hope of earning a point.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the 2023 edition, become the second team after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a straightforward final quarter morphed into a tense affair.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of 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 Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.
The number 9 then turned provider Lookman for the third goal, before Montassar Talbi to direct a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the comeback.
The key moment came when a looping cross struck the arm of the full-back, with the official awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although Ali Abdi's successful penalty, Tunisia in the end fell short of completing a remarkable recovery.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their own hands; a draw against Tunisia will be enough to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to avoid a recurrence of the 2013 early elimination that led to his departure.
