Nigeria Secure Afcon Knockout Spot Despite Fierce Tunisia Fightback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star helped his team build a 3-0 advantage, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought victory.
Nigeria survived a stunning late rally from their opponents to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be cruising in their Group C clash in Fes, holding a three-goal cushion with just a quarter of an hour remaining courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when Tunisia were given a late penalty after a VAR check spotted a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to create a nail-biting finale.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a stunning leveler in stoppage time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a chance narrowly wide before a substitute sent a half-volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that the Super Eagles, winners of the competition on three past instances, advance to 6 group points and are assured first place in Group C with one game still to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will meet a best third-place team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, the 2004 champions stay on three group points, with the East African teams tied on one point each after playing out a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The final pool fixtures will see the group leaders remain in the city to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to the capital to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender smashed home from 12 yards to offer his team hope of earning a point.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the previous edition, are the second team after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but their manager and supporters will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a comfortable last period transformed into a nerve-wracking conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for offside before breaking the deadlock on the stroke of the interval, precisely placing a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was extended soon in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a header from a Lookman kick.
The number 9 then set up his teammate for the third goal, only for the defender to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the fightback.
The key incident arrived when a looping cross hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite Ali Abdi's confident conversion, Tunisia in the end fell short of pulling off a stirring recovery.
Their fate is still in their control; a point against Tanzania will be enough to see them through, and their coach will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the past early elimination that resulted in his previous resignation.
