Nigeria Secure Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Place In Spite of Late Tunisia Fightback
Former African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star helped Nigeria establish a 3-0 lead, but they were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow win.
Nigeria survived a stunning comeback attempt from their opponents to progress to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their Group C encounter in the Moroccan city, enjoying a 3-0 cushion with only a quarter of an hour remaining thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
However, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder free-kick, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The tension intensified when the North Africans were given a spot-kick after a VAR check identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to create a frantic conclusion.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity just past the post before Ismael Gharbi sent a bobbling volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching First Place
The victory ensures that Nigeria, winners of the competition on 3 past instances, advance to 6 points and are assured top spot in Group C with a match still to play.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed team from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on three group points, with the East African teams tied on a single point each after playing out a one-all draw in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group fixtures will see Nigeria remain in the city to play the Cranes on the next matchday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to face Tanzania.
A Nervy Conclusion
Ali Abdi drilled the ball from the penalty spot to offer his team hope of earning a draw.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the 2023 edition, become the next team after Egypt 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 transformed into a tense affair.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for offside before opening the scoring right before the interval, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was extended soon in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder rose highest to thump in a header from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the third goal, before the defender to steer a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the fightback.
The key moment came when a high ball struck the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Despite the defender's confident conversion, Tunisia in the end came up just short of completing a stirring comeback.
Their fate remains in their own hands; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to secure progression, and their coach will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.
