Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Place Despite Late Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star helped his team build a commanding advantage, before the Super Eagles were compelled to hold on for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions survived a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to advance to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles seemed to be cruising in their Group C encounter in Fes, holding a 3-0 lead with just 17 minutes left courtesy of goals from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The tension intensified when the North Africans were given a spot-kick after a video assistant referee review spotted a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a frantic conclusion.
The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a stunning leveler in stoppage time, with their skipper directing a opportunity narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley past the upright.
Securing Top Spot
The victory ensures that Nigeria, winners of the competition on 3 past instances, move to six group points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with a match still to be contested.
For the round of 16, they will meet a best third-place team from either Group A, B or F.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on 3 group points, with the East African teams locked on one point each after registering a 1-1 draw earlier on Saturday.
The concluding pool fixtures will see Nigeria stay in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to Rabat to face the Taifa Stars.
A Nervy Conclusion
Ali Abdi drilled the ball from the penalty spot to give Tunisia a glimmer of hope of snatching a point.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the 2023 tournament, become the next nation after Egypt to reach the knockout stage, but their manager and fans will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward last period morphed into a nerve-wracking conclusion.
The prolific striker had a effort disallowed for offside before breaking the deadlock on the stroke of the interval, expertly guiding a header into the far post from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was doubled early in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi rose highest to thump in a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.
Osimhen then set up his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, before the defender to steer a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.
The key moment came when a high ball struck the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of completing a remarkable recovery.
Their fate remains in their control; a point against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and their coach will be eager to prevent a repeat of the 2013 early elimination that resulted in his departure.
