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Nigeria faced Tunisia in its second game, with the prospect of second-round qualification, after defeating Tanzania 2-1 in the opening Group C match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi, and Ademola Lookman’s goals secured their team’s 3-2 victory over Tunisia and passage to the round of 16 elimination.

The 2025 AFCON between Nigeria and Tunisia was broadcast live on Channels Television. Thank you for joining us for a game-by-blow overview.

87′ GOAL! Abdi scores for Tunisia at 3-2.

Tunisia is one goal away from drawing level when Abdi kicks the ball into the top-right corner of the goal from the penalty spot. Tunisia was given a penalty by the referee after the ball was handled in the penalty area.

75′ GOAL! Nigeria wins 3-1 in Gujarat.

Mejbri sent the ball into the box after Tunisia won a free kick on the left.

Gharbi directed the ball toward the far post after it reached him. Nwabali was sent into the net after the deflection went wrong.

67′ GOAL! Lookman Scores: Tunisia 3-0, Nigeria

In Fez, Nigeria are undisputed leaders. Iwobi threads a fine pass to Osimhen to the right, which is the result of a well-executed team move.

Osimhen hurries into the box and swayes to Lookman to the left. Lookman makes a short movement toward the left post before deflecting the ball into the net with plenty of room.

50′ GOAL! Nigeria defeated Tunisia 2-0.

A left-handed Nigerian corner was won. Lookman headed the ball into the net, where it was found by Ndidi, who slammed it deftly past Dahmen.

Ndidi’s first international goal came right away, and his teammates immediately surrounded him. Nigeria appears to be on a strong course to make it to Round 16

46 Second half is underway.

Tunisia 1-0 at half-time.

44′ GOAL! Tunisia vs. Nigeria: Osimhen gives them the lead with a score of 1-0.

Victor Osimhen finally ends his AFCON 2025 goal drought!

A stunning cross from Lookman to the left made the connection between the Galatasaray striker. Osimhen perfectly timed his run, heading past Dahmen at the far post.

As teammates embraced him in joy, he immediately ran out and celebrated. Nigeria deserved the victory, and it will approach the break with confidence.

Tunisia is 36′ Growing into the Match

The North Africans are beginning to assert themselves after a quiet first 30 minutes.

On the right edge of the box, Abdi sends a ball over the top to Mastouri, who then attempts a chip into the danger area, but the ball misses for a left-side corner.

Mejbri gives the corner from the left, but Osimhen makes a head-but-forgett.

Tunisia’s 32nd Team Earns Their First Corner

Mejbri delivers a corner from the right, demonstrating their first real attacking intent. As the ball bounces around the box, Osimhen rises to meet it with a header.

Abdi fires a shot over the crossbar after the ball eventually falls to him outside the box to the right.

Another Corner: Another Corner for Nigeria at 28′

From the right, Lookman floated the ball in. Iwobi attempted to redirect the ball, but it was eventually cleared after Osimhen got a touch while positioned at the far post.

Osimhen’s goal at 17′ is flagged as offside.

Before entering the box, Lookman made a run to the right of center and fired his way to the goal.

Osimhen perfectly timed his run by sliding the ball past the goalkeeper after Dahmen rebounded.

The referee immediately flagged Osimhen for offside and gave him the goal, but the ball hit the back of the net. The striker has allowed the fifth goal in the tournament without an exception.

11′ Nigeria Wins First Corner

Osimhen rose up to meet the ball, which Lookman delivered from the right, but his angled header once more fell over the bar.

Tunisia have been under pressure, and they will be hoping to improve.

Osimhen misses another chance, 9′.

On the right flank, Adams gathered the ball and headed to Osimhen’s far post. A well-timed header from the striker was well received, but it went just over the crossbar.

Nigeria lacked a prime opportunity to take the lead early.

Osimhen’s 6′ effort crosses the bar.

The striker for Galatasaray picked up the ball outside the box on the right. The ball soared high over the crossbar and into the stands as he attempted to score it.

Nigeria’s crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations clash against Tunisia will be played under the guidance of Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle.

Victor Osimhen, who is in charge of Nigeria’s quest for the continental title, highlights his crucial contribution to the country’s pursuit of the title.

A balanced squad, combining the best players from the past and promising young players, was created by Chelle to balance the midfield while addressing Tunisia’s defense’s weaknesses.

A win could help Nigeria advance to the round of 16 and keep their AFCON campaign on track with the outcome of the match, which is expected to be a fiercely contested encounter.

See the following list in its entirety:

After winning over Tanzania, Eric Chelle makes two changes.

Bruno Onyemaechi and Frank Onyeka begin
In midfield, Alex Iwobi pulls the strings.
Akor Adams and Victor Osimhen are in the NGO #Naija4TheWin #AFCON2025 photo. twitter.com/lzkakME3Ou

In a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Ollie Watkins scored twice to keep Aston Villa’s unanticipated Premier League title challenge on the line.

Prior to being unleashed by Unai Emery for a second-half double, the England international had only scored three goals all season.

Third-placed Villa is now three points clear of Arsenal, who they will face next on Tuesday, with an 11th successive victory.

Chelsea were Arsenal’s closest rivals less than a month ago, but they have only won once in their last six league games.

Despite leading 1-0 at the break, the Blues were depressed for not to continue their first-half dominance.

Early in the match, Cole Palmer fired a wide, and Enzo Fernandez’s curling effort dipped far beyond the post.

As Chelsea controlled possession and finally broke the deadlock on 37 minutes, the relentless Moises Caicedo and Palmer made further attempts to block them.

Emi Martinez and Reece James both slammed into Emi Martinez’ leg as the Villa goal was struggling.

Also available: &nbsp, Delap, Estevao In Line For Chelsea’s Aston Villa Recap.

After coming back from 2-0 down in the 2-2 draw at Newcastle last weekend, the former Brighton forward scored his second goal in two games.

After a shaky run of results, Enzo Maresca’s situation eased as a result of his concerns about Pep Guardiola’s potential replacement and his criticism of the club’s lack of support.

However, the opposite happened when Chelsea lost in the second half and the visitors started to prosper.

Watkins was replaced on the hour mark alongside former Chelsea wingers Jadon Sancho and Amadou Onana with a triple substitution by Emery.

Robert Sanchez, the Chelsea stopper, quickly denied Boubacar Kamara, but Watkins broke through shortly afterward to level.

The striker discovered a gap between Chelsea’s center-backs, and Sanchez saved his shot before ricocheting off Watkins and into the post.

As Villa took control, Sanchez nearly thwarted Ian Maatsen, a former Chelsea defender.

Maresca was told to leave the touchline, but Villa kept up the momentum with Palmer’s departure, who reacted with dismay after being replaced.

However, Villa grew stronger and won when Watkins reached the top of the table in Youri Tielemans’ favor, making their best run since 1914.

Crucially, Emery’s men also move Chelsea’s position 10 points clear of Chelsea in the Champions League race for the coming season.

Despite a disappointing 2-1 victory over Wolves on a day when both clubs paid tribute to Diogo Jota, Liverpool moved into the top four.

Jota, who died in a car accident in July, won four awards after moving to Liverpool from Wolves in 2020.

His wife Rute Cardoso watched on from the sidelines while two of his children led the teams out as mascots.

In the 18th and 20th minutes, Jota’s fans chanted his name, which were his shirt numbers while playing at Molineux and Anfield, respectively.

“I have witnessed so many special moments where the fans remembered him or our players behaved unbelievably in the circumstances,” said Liverpool manager Arne Slot.

“Diogo and his brother were treated with the respect they deserved,” said not only our supporters but also those of other teams. Before the game and then in the 20th minute, it was special to see his children playing as the mascot.

Both teams have suffered this season, with Wolves facing relegation after only collecting two points in their first 18 league games.

Read more about Liverpool’s recent success with Isak Blow Following Ankle Injury.

Liverpool’s recent form has improved, and Wirtz is beginning to exhibit signs of the brilliance that drew the English champions to Bayer Leverkusen’s $ 100 million ($135 million) purchase.

The 22-year-old added his first Premier League assist last weekend when Alexander Isak broke his leg to open the scoring against Tottenham, giving Liverpool some pain.

There is even more pressure on Wirtz to fulfill his hefty price tag now that he is the most expensive player in English football history for the upcoming months.

He has played a significant role in our season so far. However, results are important in football, not goals and assists, Slot continued.

He was special to us in many ways throughout the game, according to the coach, “but today he showed much more than just the goal he scored.”

In his 23rd appearance for Liverpool, Wirtz prodded home Hugo Ekitike’s pass to double the home side’s lead before the final whistle.

Liverpool had made a breakthrough with the collision of Jeremie Frimpong’s cross 90 seconds prior.

However, Slot was unable to relax with a 2-0 half-time lead over a team that was on the verge of Premier League disaster.

Liverpool’s frailty was exposed by Santiago Bueno just six minutes into the second half when the game was pulled back from set pieces.

A perfectly timed tackle from Conor Bradley was required to give Jhon Arias a late equalizer because Slot’s men have a habit of late collapses at Leeds and Tottenham in recent weeks.

With a tense 2-1 victory over Brighton on Saturday, Arsenal overcame their defensive injury crisis to climb back to the top of the Premier League.

Before Riccardo Calafiori was injured just before kick-off at the Emirates Stadium, Mikel Arteta’s side already had a number of defenders.

Martin Odegaard gave the Gunners a first half lead before Georginio Rutter’s own goal in the second half extended that lead.

Brighton’s Diego Gomez scored one goal, but Arsenal held on for a third successive league win.

Arsenal are two points clear of Manchester City, who had briefly risen to the top after beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 on Saturday.

On December 30th, the North Londoners take on title rivals Aston Villa in their next game.

Due to the injury bug, Arteta was forced to field a team without a recognized right-back, and Calafiori’s knock in the pre-game warm-up made things even worse.

READ MORE: Mane Redraws AFCON Draw for Senegal vs. DR Congo

Myles Lewis-Skelly started at left-back while England midfielder Declan Rice started at right-back due to Jurrien Timber, Ben White, and Cristhian Mosquera being sidelined.

Arsenal should have taken an early lead at Brighton despite their defense issues when Viktor Gyokeres mishandled Lewis Dunk before striking straight at Bart Verbruggen.

After slaloming past Maxim De Cuyper, Bukayo Saka was next in line, but Verbruggen saved at his close range.

In the fourteenth minute, Verbruggen’s subpar goal-kick was saved by Saka, who teed up Odegaard for a fine low finish from the edge of the area.

It was the Arsenal captain’s first goal of the season, putting an end to a May personal goal drought.

Before Verbruggen made a brilliant save from Gyokeres, Rice almost doubled the lead, but Dunk cleared his shot off the line before he was saved.

The impressive record that Arsenal had won all 11 of their league games before this season’s opener was going to be preserved.

Rutter headed Rice’s corner into his own net in the 52nd minute, extending Arsenal’s remarkable run of set-piece goals this season and putting up four own goals in their last six goals.

It was a big surprise when Brighton, who had a better chance in the first half, scored one more than Brighton in the 64th minute.

Gomez responded quickly and fired home from close range after Yasin Ayari’s shot was cannoned back off the post.

For his return from a thigh injury suffered in early November, Arteta gave the game’s center-back a second chance.

However, Arsenal’s fans were beginning to jiggle, and Yankuba Minteh almost caused them to explode with a long-range blast that was headed in the top corner before Raya made a brilliant tip over.

Senegal, who is 2022 champions, and the Democratic Republic of Congo drew 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of Congo in their Saturday heavyweight Africa Cup of Nations match.

With only one game left to play, Senegal will continue to lead Group D thanks to Cedric Bakambu’s opening score of just after the hour mark in Tangiers.

Before their final group game against Benin on Tuesday, Senegal had a better goal difference despite the two teams having four points.

After winning 1-0 to Botswana on Saturday in Rabat, Benin now has three points. Neither team has scored in the bottom three.

After suffering a devastating defeat at the previous meeting of the nations, World Cup qualifying in September, Sebastien Desabre’s Congolese side sought retribution.

Senegal won the matchup 3-2 in Kinshasa, going on to win the match and leading their group to advance to the next year’s North American finals.

In order to avoid being eliminated from the World Cup in March, DR Congo must now enter a one-off play-off against either New Caledonia or Jamaica in Mexico.

Read more: Senegal, Nigeria, and Tunisia Contenders Start 2025 AFCON Campaigns With Wins

Senegal had more possession and chances on the day thanks to Botswana’s 3-0 victory, which is seen as perhaps the biggest threat to Morocco’s chances of capturing the title on its own soil.

Theo Bongonda, the Leopards’ top scorer, scored the only goal in their opening game win against Benin in the 61st minute after Edouard Mendy’s fine pass was parried by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who scored the winning goal.

Senegal, however, were only eight minutes into the game when Ibrahim Mbaye, a young substitute, made a superb run.

The 17-year-old Paris Saint-Germain winger Mbaye, who was born in France and has represented them until the Under-20s, recently committed to Senegal, for whom he has a parent who qualifies.

Just after Bakambu’s opener, he made the leveller from a perplexing run down the right. He took the place of Ismaila Sarr.

Mbaye slammed into Arthur Masuaku, who appeared to be hurting himself before being blocked by Lionel Mpasi, but Mane was on hand to score.

Former Liverpool legend Mane, who is playing in his sixth tournament, scored 10 goals in the AFCON.