The Super Eagles Book Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 Place In Spite of Late Tunisia Fightback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star helped his team establish a commanding advantage, but the Super Eagles were compelled to hold on for a hard-fought win.
Nigeria weathered a dramatic comeback attempt from Tunisia to progress to the last 16 of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
The Super Eagles appeared to be in complete control in their Group C clash in Fes, holding a 3-0 lead with only a quarter of an hour remaining courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, sparking hopes of a recovery.
The drama escalated when the North Africans were given a late penalty after a VAR check spotted a handball by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi converted in the dying stages to create a frantic finale.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi heading a opportunity just past the post before Ismael Gharbi guided a half-volley wide of the goal frame.
Clinching First Place
This result means that the Super Eagles, winners of the competition on 3 previous occasions, advance to six group points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with one game left to be contested.
In the next round, they will meet a third-placed team from one of Group A, B or F.
Meanwhile, Tunisia stay on 3 group points, with Uganda and Tanzania tied on a single point after playing out a 1-1 stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group matches will see Nigeria stay in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Finish
Ali Abdi drilled home from 12 yards to give his team a glimmer of hope of earning a draw.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the 2023 edition, are the next team after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but their manager and supporters will undoubtedly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward final quarter morphed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for offside before opening the scoring on the stroke of the interval, precisely placing a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The advantage was doubled early in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a header from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then turned provider his teammate for the third goal, before the defender to steer a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the fightback.
The key moment came when a high ball hit the forearm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after consulting the VAR monitor.
Although the defender's successful penalty, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a remarkable recovery.
Their fate remains in their control; a point against Tanzania will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be keen to prevent a repeat of the 2013 early elimination that led to his departure.
