Nigeria Book Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Place In Spite of Late Carthage Eagles Fightback
Former African Footballer of the Year the Napoli star was instrumental in his team establish a 3-0 lead, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a hard-fought win.
The three-time champions weathered a dramatic comeback attempt from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations being held in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their pool clash in Fes, enjoying a three-goal lead with only a quarter of an hour left thanks to goals from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The drama intensified when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a VAR check identified a handball by Bright Osayi-Samuel. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to create a frantic finale.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, with their skipper directing a chance narrowly wide before Ismael Gharbi guided a bobbling volley wide of the upright.
Securing Top Spot
This result means that Nigeria, champions of the competition on 3 past instances, advance to 6 points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with a match left to be contested.
In the next round, they will meet a best third-place team from either the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, the 2004 champions stay on three group points, with the East African teams tied on one point after playing out a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The final group matches will see Nigeria remain in Fes to take on Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia return to the capital to face the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Finish
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from the penalty spot to give Tunisia a glimmer of hope of snatching a draw.
Nigeria, finalists in the previous edition, are the second nation after the Pharaohs to qualify for the knockout stage, but their manager and fans will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a comfortable last period morphed into a tense affair.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, precisely placing a header into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was extended early in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to thump in a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.
Osimhen then set up his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, only for Montassar Talbi to direct a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.
The pivotal moment arrived when a high ball hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official awarding a penalty after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Although the defender's confident conversion, Tunisia ultimately fell short of completing a remarkable recovery.
Their fate remains in their control; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to see them through, and their coach will be keen to avoid a repeat of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his departure.
