Akin Ayomide
Goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman were enough to qualify Nigeria into the Round of 16 after beating Tunisia 3-2 in a thrilling Group C encounter at the Complexe Sportif de Fès on Saturday.
The victory, Nigeria’s first against Tunisia in three meetings, confirmed the Super Eagles’ place in the knockout stages and extended their impressive run to seven wins from their last eight group-stage matches at AFCON finals.
Ademola Lookman was involved in all three Nigeria goals, providing two assists before getting on the scoresheet himself in a man-of-the-match performance.
The Super Eagles had established control early on but struggled to convert their dominance into goals, with Osimhen uncharacteristically guiding two headers off-target inside the opening 11 minutes.
The Galatasaray striker also had a goal ruled out for offside after converting the rebound from Akor Adams’ parried shot, before firing another header wide from Calvin Bassey’s cross.
Nigeria’s persistence finally paid off in the 44th minute when Osimhen got away from Montassar Talbi to head home Lookman’s cross, breaking his AFCON goal drought and letting out his emotion in celebration.
The goal was Osimhen’s 32nd in 48 appearances for Nigeria, moving him closer to Rashidi Yekini’s all-time record of 37 goals.
Eric Chelle’s side doubled their advantage five minutes into the second half when captain Ndidi rose to head in Lookman’s corner for his first-ever Nigeria goal in the 50th minute.
Lookman added the third in the 70th minute, dancing away from Yan Valery before finishing clinically despite bodies getting back on the line, after an assist from Osimhen.
Tunisia pulled one back in the 74th minute when Talbi glanced Hannibal Mejbri’s free-kick past Stanley Nwabali to reduce the deficit.
The Eagles of Carthage were handed a lifeline in the 87th minute when Bright Osayi-Samuel conceded a penalty for handball, which Ali Abdi emphatically converted to make it 3-2.
Ferjani Sassi came agonisingly close to heading in an equaliser in the dying moments but sank to his knees as the ball went wide, as Nigeria held on for a crucial victory.
The five goals scored in the match represent the most goals in a single game at the ongoing AFCON tournament in Morocco.
Nigeria, who top Group C with six points from two matches, will face Uganda in their final group game on Tuesday at 5pm Nigerian time.
Tunisia, despite the defeat, still sit second in the group ahead of their match against Tanzania.