Nigeria’s Super Eagles booked their place in the knockout stages of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations following a 3-2 victory over Tunisia at the Complexe Sportif de Fès on Saturday night.
Victor Osimhen broke the deadlock just before the break, slotting home from an Ademola Lookman assist.
Lookman drifted to the left before delivering a cross into the box that saw Osimhen rise highest to head the opener,his first goal of the competition.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles seal Round of 16 spot with win over Tunisia
Osimhen had earlier thought he had given the Super Eagles the lead, but his goal was ruled out for offside.
Five minutes after the restart, Lookman would once again deliver a perfectly timed corner kick into the box, with captain Wilfred Ndidi’s bullet header doubling the score for his first ever goal for the national team.
The creator, Lookman, would turn scorer in the 67th minute, dazzling through defenders for his second consecutive goal after being teed up by Osimhen, before firing a shot past Tunisia’s goalkeeper, Aymen Dahmen to make it 3-0.
Tunisia responded powerfully, and their relentless push finally paid off from a Hannibal Mejbri free kick that was headed in by Montassar Talbi to reduce the deficit.
Things would turn worse for Nigeria as a VAR check penalized Bright Osayi-Samuel for handling the ball inside his own box; the resulting penalty was converted calmly by Ali Abdi to further pile pressure on the Super Eagles at 3-2 with stoppage time to play.
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Tunisia’s push was, however, not enough to secure a point as the match ended 3-2 in favour of the Eric Chelle’s squad.
They will now need to win against Tanzania in their final match to be guaranteed an automatic qualification spot in the Round of 16.
As it stands, Nigeria sits at the top of Group C with a perfect record of two wins out of two.
Tunisia are second with three points, while Tanzania and Uganda have a point apiece after drawing in the earlier match played on Saturday, leaving the group’s second qualifying spot wide open for the final matchday.
The Super Eagles will look to secure the top spot in the group when they face Uganda in their final group fixture on Tuesday.
For Tunisia, a win against Tanzania will be enough to ensure they join the Super Eagles in the Round of 16.
AFCON 2025: Nigeria vs Tunisia lineups
Nigeria Starting XI:
Stanley Nwabali, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Semi Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, Bruno Onyemaechi, Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, Akor Adams, Victor Osimhen.
Tunisia Starting XI:
Aymen Dahmen, Yan Valery, Dylan Bronn, Montassar Talbi, Ali Abdi, Ellyes Skhiri, Ferjani Sassi, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Hannibal Mejbri, Hazem Mastouri, Elias Achouri.