The Super Eagles Secure Afcon Knockout Spot Despite Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star helped Nigeria establish a 3-0 advantage, before the Super Eagles were compelled to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria survived a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in the host nation.
The Super Eagles seemed to be in complete control in their pool clash in Fes, enjoying a three-goal cushion with just a quarter of an hour left thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder free-kick, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when Tunisia were given a spot-kick after a video assistant referee review identified a handball by the Nigerian defender. The left-back calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to create a frantic conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp leveler in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a chance narrowly wide before a substitute guided a bobbling volley wide of the upright.
Clinching First Place
The victory means that the Super Eagles, winners of the competition on three past instances, advance to six group 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 team from one of Group A, B or F.
In the other match, the 2004 champions remain on 3 group points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on a single point each after playing out a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday.
The final group fixtures will see the group leaders stay in Fes to take on the Cranes on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to Rabat to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Conclusion
Ali Abdi drilled the ball from 12 yards to offer his team a glimmer of hope of snatching a point.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the 2023 edition, become the next nation after the Pharaohs to qualify for the knockout stage, but their manager and supporters will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a comfortable final quarter morphed into a nerve-wracking affair.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before breaking the deadlock right before the interval, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The advantage was extended early in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a header from a set-piece kick.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, before the defender to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the comeback.
The key incident came when a high ball hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite Ali Abdi's successful penalty, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Their fate remains in their control; a draw against Tunisia will be enough to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to avoid a repeat of the 2013 group-stage exit that resulted in his departure.