Nigeria Book Afcon Knockout Spot In Spite of Late Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in his team build a commanding lead, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow win.
Nigeria survived a stunning comeback attempt from Tunisia to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations being held in the host nation.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 cushion with just a quarter of an hour left courtesy of goals from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a powerful header from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The tension escalated when the North Africans were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR check identified a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a nail-biting conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity just past the post before Ismael Gharbi guided a half-volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that the Super Eagles, winners of the tournament on three previous occasions, advance to 6 group points and are assured top spot in Group C with a match still to play.
For the round of 16, they will face a third-placed side from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on three group points, with the East African teams locked on one point each after registering a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday.
The final group fixtures will see Nigeria remain in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage return to the capital to confront the Taifa Stars.
A Nervy Conclusion
The Tunisian defender smashed the ball from the penalty spot to offer his team hope of earning a point.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the previous tournament, become the second team after Egypt to reach the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward last period morphed into a tense conclusion.
Victor Osimhen had a goal disallowed for offside before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The advantage was doubled early in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder rose highest to power home a header from a Lookman corner.
The number 9 then turned provider his teammate for the third goal, only for the defender to direct a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the fightback.
The key incident arrived when a high ball struck the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Although the defender's confident conversion, the 2004 champions in the end came up just short of completing a stirring recovery.
Their fate is still in their own hands; a point against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to prevent a recurrence of the 2013 group-stage exit that led to his departure.
