Nigeria Secure Africa Cup of Nations Last 16 Place In Spite of Fierce Carthage Eagles Comeback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year the Napoli star helped his team establish a commanding advantage, but they were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow win.
Nigeria weathered a dramatic late rally from Tunisia to advance to the knockout stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be cruising in their Group C encounter in the Moroccan city, holding a 3-0 cushion with only 17 minutes left thanks to strikes from their attacking trio.
Yet, Montassar Talbi pulled one back with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, sparking hopes of a turnaround.
The drama intensified when the North Africans were awarded a late penalty after a VAR check spotted a handball by the Nigerian defender. The left-back calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a nail-biting conclusion.
The Carthage Eagles were inches away from a last-gasp leveler in stoppage time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity just past the post before a substitute guided a half-volley past the goal frame.
Securing First Place
The victory ensures that the Super Eagles, champions of the tournament on three past instances, move to six group points and are guaranteed first place in their pool with one game left to play.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed side from one of the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia remain on 3 points, with Uganda and Tanzania locked on one point after registering a 1-1 stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group matches will see the group leaders stay in Fes to play Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia travel back to Rabat to confront Tanzania.
An Anxious Finish
Ali Abdi smashed the ball from 12 yards to give Tunisia hope of earning a draw.
Nigeria, finalists in the previous edition, become the next team after the Pharaohs to qualify for the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What looked like set to be a comfortable final quarter transformed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a header into the far post from an Ademola Lookman cross.
The lead was doubled early in the second half when Wilfred Ndidi rose highest to power home a header from a set-piece kick.
Osimhen then turned provider Lookman for the third goal, only for the defender to steer a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the comeback.
The key incident came when a high ball struck the arm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore awarding a penalty after reviewing the pitchside screen.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, the 2004 champions ultimately fell short of completing a remarkable comeback.
Their fate remains in their control; a draw against Tanzania will be enough to secure progression, and their coach will be keen to avoid a repeat of the past early elimination that resulted in his departure.
