The Super Eagles Book Africa Cup of Nations Knockout Place In Spite of Fierce Carthage Eagles Comeback
Former Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria establish a commanding lead, before the Super Eagles were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow win.
Nigeria weathered a stunning late rally from their opponents to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in the host nation.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be cruising in their Group C clash in the Moroccan city, holding a three-goal cushion with only a quarter of an hour left courtesy of strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The drama intensified when Tunisia were given a spot-kick after a video assistant referee check identified a handball by the Nigerian defender. The left-back converted in the dying stages to set up a frantic conclusion.
Tunisia were inches away from a last-gasp leveler in stoppage time, with their skipper directing a chance narrowly wide before a substitute guided a half-volley past the upright.
Clinching First Place
The victory means that Nigeria, champions of the tournament on 3 past instances, advance to six points and are assured first place in their pool with a match still to play.
In the next round, they will meet a best third-place side from either Group A, B or F.
Meanwhile, the 2004 champions remain on three points, with the East African teams locked on one point after registering a 1-1 draw in the day's other fixture.
The final pool fixtures will see Nigeria remain in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to the capital to face Tanzania.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender smashed home from the penalty spot to offer his team hope of snatching a point.
Nigeria, runners-up in the previous edition, become the next nation after Egypt to reach the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and fans will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a straightforward final quarter morphed into a nerve-wracking affair.
Victor Osimhen had a effort disallowed for an infringement before opening the scoring right before half-time, expertly guiding a header into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was doubled soon in the second period when Wilfred Ndidi climbed above everyone to thump in a header from a set-piece corner.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the seemingly decisive goal, only for the defender to direct a header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.
The pivotal incident arrived when a looping cross hit the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after consulting the VAR monitor.
Despite Ali Abdi's successful penalty, the 2004 champions ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Their fate is still in their control; a draw against Tunisia will be sufficient to secure progression, and their coach will be keen to avoid a recurrence of the 2013 group-stage exit that led to his departure.
