Nigeria Secure Afcon Last 16 Spot In Spite of Fierce Carthage Eagles Comeback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in his team build a 3-0 lead, before they were compelled to hold on for a hard-fought victory.
The three-time champions survived a stunning comeback attempt from Tunisia to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles appeared to be cruising in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 lead with just 17 minutes remaining courtesy of goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
However, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The drama intensified when Tunisia were awarded a spot-kick after a video assistant referee review identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to create a frantic finale.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a stunning equalizer in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a chance narrowly wide before a substitute guided a bobbling volley wide of the goal frame.
Securing Top Spot
This result ensures that the Super Eagles, champions of the tournament on 3 previous occasions, move to 6 group points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with a match left to be contested.
In the next round, they will face a best third-place team from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions remain on 3 points, with the East African teams tied on a single point each after registering a 1-1 stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The final pool matches will see Nigeria stay in the city to play Uganda on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Finish
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from the penalty spot to give his team a glimmer of hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2023 edition, are the second nation after the Pharaohs to qualify for the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward last period transformed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for offside before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, precisely placing a header into the far post from an Atalanta winger cross.
The advantage was doubled early in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a header from a Lookman corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the third goal, only for the defender to steer a header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the fightback.
The key moment came when a looping cross struck the arm of the full-back, with the official pointing to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor.
Despite the defender's confident conversion, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of completing a remarkable recovery.
Their fate remains in their own hands; a draw against Tanzania will be sufficient to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to avoid a repeat of the past early elimination that resulted in his previous resignation.
