Nigeria Secure Afcon Knockout Place In Spite of Late Carthage Eagles Fightback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria build a commanding advantage, but they were forced to hold on for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria weathered a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to progress to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be in complete control in their Group C encounter in Fes, enjoying a three-goal cushion with only 17 minutes left thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder free-kick, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were given a late penalty after a video assistant referee check identified a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to set up a frantic conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in added time, with their skipper directing a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi sent a bobbling volley past the upright.
Securing Top Spot
The victory ensures that Nigeria, champions of the tournament on three past instances, advance to 6 group points and are guaranteed top spot in their pool with one game still to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will face a third-placed side from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia remain on three group points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on one point each after playing out a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The final pool fixtures will see the group leaders stay in Fes to play Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia return to the capital to confront Tanzania.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from 12 yards to offer his team a glimmer of hope of earning a point.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the previous tournament, become the next team after the Pharaohs to reach the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a straightforward final quarter transformed into a nerve-wracking affair.
The prolific striker had a effort disallowed for offside before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The advantage was doubled early in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to thump in a powerful nod from a Lookman corner.
Osimhen then set up Lookman for the third goal, only for Montassar Talbi to direct a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.
The pivotal incident came when a looping cross hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Although the defender's successful penalty, the 2004 champions ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable recovery.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their own hands; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and their coach will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the 2013 group-stage exit that led to his previous resignation.