Nigeria’s Super Eagles secured qualification for the Round of 16 at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after edging Tunisia 3–2 in an entertaining five-goal encounter at the Fez Stadium on Saturday.
The Super Eagles appeared to be cruising after racing into a 3–0 lead, with goals from Victor Osimhen, skipper Wilfred Ndidi, and Ademola Lookman.
However, Tunisia staged a late comeback in the Group C top-of-the-table clash, as Montassar Talbi and Ali Abdi found the net to set up a nervy finale.
The Carthage Eagles nearly drew level during seven minutes of stoppage time, but efforts from captain Ferjani Sassi and substitute Ismael Gharbi narrowly missed the target.
Following the result, Nigeria moved to six points, Tunisia remained on three, while Tanzania and Uganda had one point each ahead of the final group fixtures on Tuesday.
The match marked the seventh AFCON meeting between the Super Eagles and the Carthage Eagles. Nigeria have now won three encounters, Tunisia one, while two previous clashes ended in penalty shootouts, with both teams winning once.
After an underwhelming performance in their narrow opening win over Tanzania, Nigeria showed a marked improvement against Tunisia, dominating the opening 30 minutes in the Moroccan city.
Osimhen was particularly impressive, especially in the air, as Tunisia were pinned back by the three-time African champions. The Galatasaray forward, sporting his trademark protective mask, headed just wide in the ninth minute and went close again shortly after from a corner.
He thought he had opened the scoring in the 17th minute, but the effort was correctly ruled out for offside, with replays showing the 2023 African Player of the Year had moved too early.
Tunisia midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was fortunate to avoid a booking after angrily reacting to a foul throw decision, slamming the ball into the ground.
Osimhen later missed another headed chance and briefly left the pitch for treatment before Tunisia registered their first meaningful attack in the 32nd minute, winning a corner that eventually fell to Abdi, whose shot sailed over the bar.
After sustained pressure, Nigeria finally broke the deadlock in the 44th minute. Lookman delivered a precise cross and Osimhen rose above Abdi and Talbi to power a header into the net.
Five minutes after the restart, Nigeria doubled their advantage by again exploiting Tunisia’s weakness in the air. Lookman swung in a corner and Ndidi climbed highest to beat goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen, netting his first international goal.
Lookman then capped his fine performance by scoring Nigeria’s third goal in the 67th minute, latching onto a pass from Osimhen, controlling the ball in the box, and firing it in off the post.
Tunisia reduced the deficit with 16 minutes remaining when Talbi headed home a Mejbri free-kick, winning an aerial battle at last.
The momentum swung further in Tunisia’s favour late on, and with three minutes left, Abdi converted a penalty after a VAR review confirmed Bright Samuel had handled the ball, setting up a tense finish that Nigeria ultimately survived.