Starring Victor Osimhen, Nigeria overcame a late onslaught from Tunisia to win 3-2 in Fes and qualify for their second African Cup of Nations finals tournament after Egypt.
The Super Eagles were on their way to victory on Saturday, taking a 3-0 lead with goals from Osimhen, captain Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
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But Tunisia refused to surrender in the Group C leaders’ clash, with Montassar Talbi and Ali Abdi scoring to end a tense match.
Tunisia had two chances to equalize in the seven minutes of stoppage time, but captain Ferjani Sassi’s header and substitute Ismael Gharbi’s shot narrowly missed the target.
Nigeria have six points, Tunisia three points and Tanzania and Uganda one point each, with the final group stage match scheduled for Tuesday.
The match was the seventh time the Super Eagles and Carthage Eagles met in AFCON.
Nigeria won three times and Tunisia once. The remaining two games went to penalty shootouts, with each country winning one.
After a below-average performance in their opening game against Tanzania, Nigeria were a transformed team against Tunisia, dominating the first 30 minutes in the northern city.
Osimhen was outstanding, especially in the air, but Tunisia were constantly forced to defend against the three-time champions.
Wearing his trademark mask, the Galatasaray striker headed home nine minutes later, then rose to meet a corner kick and came close again shortly after.
Osimhen put the ball into the net in the 17th minute but was understandably ruled offside. Big screen replays showed the 2023 African Player of the Year timed his run too soon.
Tunisian midfielder Hannibal Meibry was lucky to avoid a yellow card for dissent after becoming furious when the Nigerian player threw the ball to the ground after a foul throw.
Osimhen tried to score with a header again, but he briefly left the pitch for medical staff to spray his leg.
In the 32nd minute, Tunisia finally broke through their defensive shell and forced a corner kick. The set-piece ended with the ball going back to Abdi, whose shot went wide.
Tunisia’s several attacks went unrewarded, but in the 44th minute the goalless deadlock was broken and Osimhen, as expected, became the scorer.
The goal involved two former African Players of the Year, with 2024 winner Lookman crossing the ball to Osimhen, who rose between Abdi and Talbi and headed it powerfully into the back of the net.
Just five minutes into the second half, Nigeria again exposed the aerial weaknesses of the Tunisian defense and extended their lead to two points.
Atalanta striker Lookman was once again the architect, floating a corner into the center of the goalmouth where Ndidi soared past goalkeeper Aymen Damen to score his first international goal.
After scoring the first two goals, Lookman scored the third in the 67th minute after being set up by Osimhen. He had time to control the ball inside the box, but it hit the post and slammed into the net.
Tunisia pulled one back with 16 minutes remaining. The North Africans finally won the aerial duel, with Talbi converting Meibry’s free kick into the net.
This goal had a dramatic effect and Tunisia took the lead, scoring again with three minutes remaining. Abdi converted the penalty that was awarded after a VAR review showed Bright Samuel had handled it.
Uganda avoids penalty opportunity and wins against Tanzania
Uganda’s Alan Okello missed a late penalty as his side had to settle for a 1-1 draw with East African neighbors Tanzania in the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday.
In front of 10,540 fans at Rabat’s Al Medina Stadium, Uganda missed out on a valuable Group C win after Okello failed to convert from the spot after Uche Ikpeazu scored a late equalizer for the Cranes.
Before that, Tanzania, who were without a win in their last 10 games across four AFCON competitions, looked like they might finally turn things around after Simon Msuba opened the scoring with a penalty kick.
However, Ikpeazu, who plays for St Johnstone in the Scottish second division, leveled the score with 10 minutes left when he headed in a cross from fellow substitute Denis Omedi.
“I have a very bad feeling, because I don’t think we deserved this draw. I think we had better chances,” Uganda coach Paul Puto said.
Regarding missing the penalty kick, he said, “It was very, very painful, but that’s football.”
The stalemate between the regional rivals, who will co-host the 2027 Nations Cup with Kenya, will do little to help their chances of progressing from Group C to the last 16.
Both sides have one point from two games, trailing Nigeria and Tunisia, and the two former champions will meet in Fes later on Saturday.
“It’s not in our hands, but we have to believe,” said Puto, whose team will next face Nigeria.
Uganda have won just one AFCON in three appearances since losing in the 1978 final, but the closest they came to scoring came in the first half.
Rodgers Mato headed Aziz Kayondo’s cross from the left, but the shot hit the underside of the crossbar.
Just before time expired, Alphonse Musanga’s shot hit Uganda’s Baba Alhassan in the arm, giving Tanzania a spot kick.
Musbah, an experienced player who plays club soccer in Iraq, has never made a mistake from the spot and has now scored in three different AFCON tournaments.
However, in a dramatic end to the match in torrential rain, Tanzania lost the lead and Uganda breathed a huge sigh of relief as they missed their chance to win.
Ikpeazu made it 1-1 and Uganda earned a penalty when James Bogea was pulled down by his shirt by Salford City’s Tanzanian defender Haji Mnoga.
The match reached the 90th minute and Okello stepped up, but there was a loud thunderclap, probably just before he took the kick, and the kick went over the bar.
Tanzania national team coach Miguel Angel Gamondi said, “We tried to win the game, but we could have lost with five minutes left, so we are a little disappointed with this result.”
“We were hoping for our first win in the African Cup of Nations and I am very sorry to all Tanzanians.”
