Nigeria Book Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Spot Despite Late Carthage Eagles Comeback

Nigeria weathered a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in the host nation.

Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be cruising in their pool clash in the Moroccan city, enjoying a 3-0 lead with only 17 minutes left courtesy of goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.

Yet, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a turnaround.

The drama intensified when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a video assistant referee review spotted a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the dying stages to create a frantic finale.

The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a stunning leveler in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi sent a bobbling volley wide of the upright.

Securing Top Spot

The victory means that Nigeria, champions of the competition on 3 past instances, move to 6 group points and are assured top spot in Group C with a match left to be contested.

In the next round, they will face a third-placed team from either Group A, B or F.

In the other match, the 2004 champions remain on 3 points, with Uganda and Tanzania locked on a single point after playing out a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday.

The concluding pool matches will see Nigeria stay in Fes to take on Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia return to the capital to face Tanzania.

A Nervy Conclusion

The Super Eagles, runners-up in the 2023 tournament, are the second team after the Pharaohs to reach the next phase, but their manager and supporters will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.

What looked like set to be a straightforward final quarter transformed into a tense affair.

The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for offside before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman delivery.

The advantage was doubled soon in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a header from a set-piece corner.

Osimhen then turned provider his teammate for the third goal, before the defender to steer a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.

The pivotal incident arrived when a looping cross struck the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the pitchside screen.

Although the defender's confident conversion, the 2004 champions in the end came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.

Tunisia's destiny remains in their control; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and their coach will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the 2013 early elimination that led to his departure.