Nigeria Book Afcon Knockout Spot Despite Fierce Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen helped his team build a 3-0 lead, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria weathered a stunning late rally from their opponents to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in the host nation.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their pool encounter in the Moroccan city, holding a three-goal lead with only 17 minutes remaining courtesy of strikes from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
However, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The tension escalated when Tunisia were given a spot-kick after a video assistant referee check spotted a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back converted in the dying stages to create a frantic finale.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in added time, with their skipper heading a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley wide of the upright.
Securing Top Spot
The victory ensures that Nigeria, champions of the tournament on 3 previous occasions, move to 6 points and are assured first place in their pool with one game still to play.
In the next round, they will meet a third-placed side from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on 3 points, with Uganda and Tanzania locked on one point each after playing out a 1-1 stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The concluding pool matches will see the group leaders stay in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to the capital to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Finish
The Tunisian defender smashed the ball from 12 yards to give his team a glimmer of hope of earning a draw.
Nigeria, finalists in the 2023 tournament, become the next nation after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a comfortable final quarter transformed into a nerve-wracking affair.
The prolific striker had a goal disallowed for offside before opening the scoring right before the interval, expertly guiding a glancing effort into the far post from an Atalanta winger delivery.
The advantage was extended early in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a powerful nod from a Lookman corner.
Osimhen then set up his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, only for Montassar Talbi to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the comeback.
The key incident arrived when a high ball hit the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite Ali Abdi's successful penalty, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a stirring comeback.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their control; a point against Tanzania will be sufficient to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that led to his previous resignation.