The Super Eagles Secure Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 Place Despite Late Tunisia Fightback
Ex- African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star helped Nigeria establish a commanding lead, but they were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow win.
Nigeria survived a stunning comeback attempt from their opponents to advance to the knockout stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations being held in the host nation.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be cruising in their pool encounter in Fes, holding a three-goal lead with only a quarter of an hour remaining thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a powerful header from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The tension intensified when Tunisia were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR check spotted a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a nail-biting conclusion.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity narrowly wide before a substitute sent a bobbling volley past the upright.
Clinching First Place
The victory ensures that the Super Eagles, winners of the competition on 3 past instances, move to 6 points and are assured first place in their pool with a match left to play.
In the next round, they will face a best third-place team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on three points, with the East African teams tied on a single point each after registering a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group matches will see Nigeria remain in Fes to play Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Conclusion
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from 12 yards to offer Tunisia a glimmer of hope of earning a draw.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2023 tournament, are the second team after Egypt to reach the knockout stage, but their manager and fans will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a straightforward last period morphed into a tense affair.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring right before half-time, precisely placing a header into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was doubled early in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi rose highest to thump in a header from a Lookman kick.
Osimhen then turned provider Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, only for Montassar Talbi to steer a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the comeback.
The key incident came when a looping cross struck the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official awarding a penalty after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, the 2004 champions in the end fell short of completing a remarkable comeback.
Their fate is still in their control; a point against Tanzania will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to prevent a repeat of the 2013 early elimination that resulted in his departure.
