The Super Eagles Book Afcon Last 16 Spot Despite Fierce Carthage Eagles Comeback

Nigeria survived a stunning late rally from their opponents to progress 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 encounter in the Moroccan city, enjoying a three-goal lead with just 17 minutes left courtesy of goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.

Yet, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a close-range finish from a Hannibal Mejbri free-kick, igniting hopes of a turnaround.

The tension escalated when Tunisia were awarded a spot-kick after a VAR check spotted a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to set up a frantic finale.

Tunisia came agonizingly close from a stunning equalizer in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a chance just past the post before a substitute guided a bobbling volley wide of the upright.

Clinching First Place

The victory means that Nigeria, winners of the tournament on 3 past instances, move to 6 group points and are assured first place in Group C with one game still to be contested.

In the next round, they will meet a third-placed side from either the other preliminary groups.

Meanwhile, the 2004 champions stay on three group points, with the East African teams tied on a single point after playing out a 1-1 stalemate earlier on Saturday.

The concluding pool matches will see Nigeria stay in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to confront Tanzania.

An Anxious Finish

The Super Eagles, runners-up in the 2023 edition, become the second team after Egypt to reach the knockout stage, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.

What seemed set to be a comfortable final quarter morphed into a nerve-wracking affair.

The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before breaking the deadlock on the stroke of the interval, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.

The lead was doubled soon in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder rose highest to thump in a header from a set-piece corner.

The number 9 then set up his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, before the defender to direct a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.

The pivotal moment arrived when a high ball hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official awarding a penalty after consulting the pitchside screen.

Despite the defender's successful penalty, Tunisia ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.

Tunisia's destiny is still in their control; a draw against Tanzania will be enough to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to prevent a recurrence of the 2013 group-stage exit that led to his departure.