After beating Tunisia 3-2 in a five-goal thriller at Fez Stadium on Saturday, Nigeria’s Super Eagles were able to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi, and Ademola Lookman gave the Super Eagles a 3-3 lead before the Super Eagles could cruise to victory.
In the top-of-the-table Group C encounter, Tunisia refused to concede, and Montassar Talbi and Ali Abdi scored to set up a tense conclusion.
In the seventh minute of added time, Tunisia had two chances to equalize, but Ferjani Sassi’s header and Ismael Gharbi’s shot were both just off target.
With the final group game set for Tuesday, Nigeria will have six points, Tunisia will have three, and Tanzania will have one.
Read more about Late Penalty Miss’s Deny Uganda’s AFCON victory over Tanzania
The Super Eagles and Carthage Eagles squared off in an AFCON for the seventh time.
Tunisia and Nigeria both won once. Following penalty shootouts, each nation won one of the two meetings.
After falling far short of what they needed in the opening round, Nigeria turned heads in the first 30 minutes of play in Tunisia.
Tunisia had to fight back against the three-time champions frequently, especially in aerial duels, while Osimhen excelled.
The Galatasaray striker, who is sporting his signature mask, headed just over after nine minutes before rising to meet a corner kick.
After 17 minutes, Osimhen was awarded an offside penalty. The 2023 African player of the year was filmed on big-screen replays before his run was too early.
Furious Mejbri,  
After reacting furiously when a Nigerian made a foul throw and flung the ball into the ground, Tunisia midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was fortunate to escape a yellow card for dissent.
Osimhen left the pitch temporarily so that the medical staff could spray a shot to his leg after another headed goal attempt.
On 32 minutes, Tunisia finally forced a corner after breaking out of a defensive shell. The ball was returned to Abdi after the set-piece, and his shot soared well over.
The goalless deadlock was broken after 44 minutes with Osimhen, unavoidably the scorer, in a number of Tunisian raids that produced no results.
Two former African players of the year, Lookman and Osimhen, both advancing past the halfway point, crossed the ball and drilled into the net with a powerful header from Talbi.
Nigeria increased their lead to two goals just five minutes into the second half, again exposing the defense’s aerial weaknesses.
Lookman, the Atalanta striker, soared a corner into the goalmouth where Ndidi soared to beat goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen for his first international goal.
Lookman scored the third goal on 67 minutes after Osimhen had already set up the first two goals. Before slamming the ball off the post, he had some control over the situation.
With 16 minutes left, Tunisia won the game. After a successful aerial battle, Talbi free-kick-directed into the net for the North Africans.
Source: Channels TV
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