Nigeria Book Afcon Knockout Place Despite Late Carthage Eagles Fightback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria establish a 3-0 lead, before they were forced to hold on for a narrow victory.
Nigeria weathered a stunning late rally from their opponents to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their Group C clash in the Moroccan city, enjoying a three-goal lead with just 17 minutes remaining thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
However, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a powerful header from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a video assistant referee review spotted a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to set up a nail-biting finale.
The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a stunning leveler in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a opportunity just past the post before a substitute guided a bobbling volley wide of the upright.
Clinching Top Spot
The victory means that the Super Eagles, champions of the tournament on 3 previous occasions, advance to 6 group points and are guaranteed top spot in their pool with one game still to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will meet a third-placed team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, the 2004 champions stay on three group points, with Uganda and Tanzania locked on one point each after playing out a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The final pool matches will see the group leaders stay in Fes to take on the Cranes on the next matchday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to face Tanzania.
A Nervy Conclusion
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from the penalty spot to offer Tunisia hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the previous tournament, are the second team after the Pharaohs to reach the knockout stage, but their manager and supporters will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a comfortable last period morphed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for offside before breaking the deadlock on the stroke of the interval, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was extended soon in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a powerful nod from a Lookman corner.
Osimhen then set up his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, only for the defender to direct a powerful header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the fightback.
The key moment came when a looping cross hit the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor.
Despite the defender's successful penalty, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable recovery.
Tunisia's destiny is still in their control; a point against Tanzania will be sufficient to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to avoid a recurrence of the 2013 group-stage exit that resulted in his departure.
