Nigeria Book Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Spot Despite Fierce Carthage Eagles Fightback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen helped Nigeria establish a 3-0 lead, but they were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought victory.
Nigeria weathered a stunning late rally from their opponents to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in the host nation.
The Super Eagles appeared to be cruising in their Group C encounter in the Moroccan city, enjoying a 3-0 lead with only 17 minutes left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when Tunisia were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR check spotted a handball by the Nigerian defender. The left-back converted in the dying stages to set up a frantic finale.
Tunisia were inches away from a last-gasp leveler in stoppage time, with their skipper directing a opportunity narrowly wide 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 three previous occasions, advance to 6 group points and are assured first place in Group C with one game left to be contested.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed team from one of the other preliminary groups.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on 3 group points, with Uganda and Tanzania locked on a single point each after playing out a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The concluding group matches will see Nigeria stay in the city to play the Cranes on the next matchday, 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 Tunisia a glimmer of hope of snatching a point.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the previous edition, become the second team after Egypt to qualify for the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a comfortable final quarter transformed into a nerve-wracking affair.
Victor Osimhen had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of the interval, expertly guiding a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The advantage was extended soon in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a powerful nod from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, only for Montassar Talbi to direct a header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to initiate the fightback.
The pivotal moment came when a looping cross struck the arm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although the defender's confident conversion, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a stirring recovery.
Their fate remains in their own hands; a point against Tanzania will be enough to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to avoid a recurrence of the 2013 group-stage exit that led to his departure.
