Nigeria Book Afcon Last 16 Place In Spite of Fierce Tunisia Comeback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in Nigeria establish a commanding lead, but the Super Eagles were forced to hold on for a hard-fought victory.
Nigeria weathered a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their Group C clash in Fes, enjoying a three-goal cushion with only a quarter of an hour left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
However, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a close-range finish from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The drama intensified when Tunisia were given a late penalty after a VAR review spotted a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. The left-back converted in the dying stages to create a nail-biting finale.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a stunning equalizer in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a chance narrowly wide before a substitute guided a bobbling volley wide of the upright.
Securing Top Spot
The victory ensures that the Super Eagles, champions of the competition on three past instances, advance to 6 group points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with a match still to play.
In the next round, they will meet a third-placed team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on 3 group points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on one point each after playing out a one-all stalemate earlier on Saturday.
The concluding pool matches will see the group leaders stay in the city to take on Uganda on the next matchday, while Tunisia travel back to the capital to face the Taifa Stars.
A Nervy Conclusion
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from the penalty spot to offer Tunisia hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the 2023 tournament, are the second team after Egypt to reach the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward final quarter morphed into a nerve-wracking affair.
The prolific striker had a goal disallowed for an infringement before breaking the deadlock right before the interval, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger delivery.
The advantage was extended soon in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to power home a header from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the third goal, only for the defender to direct a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the fightback.
The pivotal moment came when a high ball hit the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Although the defender's successful penalty, the 2004 champions ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable recovery.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their control; a draw against Tanzania will be sufficient to secure progression, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to avoid a recurrence of the 2013 early elimination that resulted in his departure.
