The Super Eagles Secure Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Place In Spite of Fierce Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in Nigeria establish a 3-0 lead, before the Super Eagles were compelled to defend resolutely for a narrow win.
The three-time champions weathered a dramatic comeback attempt from their opponents to progress to the knockout stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be cruising in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 lead with only a quarter of an hour left courtesy of strikes from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
Yet, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR review spotted a handball by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to set up a frantic finale.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a last-gasp leveler in added time, with their skipper directing a chance just past the post before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching First Place
The victory means that Nigeria, winners of the competition on three past instances, move to six points and are guaranteed top spot in their pool with a match left to play.
For the round of 16, they will face a best third-place side from either the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on 3 points, with the East African teams locked on a single point after registering a 1-1 stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The final group fixtures will see Nigeria remain in Fes to play Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia return to the capital to face Tanzania.
A Nervy Finish
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from 12 yards to give his team a glimmer of hope of earning a draw.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2023 tournament, become the next nation after Egypt to qualify for the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a comfortable last period morphed into a tense affair.
Victor Osimhen had a goal disallowed for an infringement before opening the scoring right before half-time, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman delivery.
The lead was doubled soon in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a Lookman kick.
Osimhen then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, only for Montassar Talbi to steer a header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the fightback.
The key moment came when a looping cross struck the arm of the full-back, with the official awarding a penalty after consulting the pitchside screen.
Despite Ali Abdi's successful penalty, the 2004 champions in the end came up just short of pulling off a stirring comeback.
Their fate is still in their control; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and their coach will be keen to avoid a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.
