Nigeria Secure Afcon Last 16 Spot Despite Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Former African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in Nigeria build a commanding lead, before they were forced to hold on for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions survived a stunning comeback attempt from Tunisia to progress to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles appeared to be in complete control in their Group C encounter in Fes, enjoying a 3-0 lead with only a quarter of an hour left thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The tension intensified when the North Africans were awarded a late penalty after a video assistant referee check identified a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to create a frantic finale.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, with their skipper directing a chance just past the post before a substitute guided a bobbling volley past the goal frame.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that the Super Eagles, champions of the competition on 3 past instances, advance to 6 group points and are guaranteed top spot in their pool with one game 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 remain on three group points, with the East African teams tied on a single point after registering a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The final pool matches will see Nigeria stay in the city to play the Cranes on the next matchday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Conclusion
Ali Abdi drilled the ball from the penalty spot to offer Tunisia a glimmer of hope of earning a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the previous tournament, become the next nation after Egypt to reach the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a comfortable final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
Victor Osimhen had a goal ruled out for an infringement before breaking the deadlock right before the interval, precisely placing a header into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The advantage was doubled soon in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then turned provider his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, only for Montassar Talbi to direct a header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the comeback.
The key incident arrived when a looping cross hit the arm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite the defender's confident conversion, the 2004 champions ultimately came up just short of completing a stirring recovery.
Their fate remains in their own hands; a point against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to avoid a recurrence of the 2013 early elimination that led to his departure.
