The Super Eagles Book Afcon Knockout Spot Despite Late Tunisia Comeback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria establish a commanding lead, before they were forced to hold on for a narrow victory.
The three-time champions survived a dramatic comeback attempt from Tunisia to advance to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament being held in Morocco.
Jose Peseiro's side seemed to be in complete control in their pool encounter in the Moroccan city, holding a 3-0 lead with just a quarter of an hour remaining thanks to goals from their attacking trio.
However, a Tunisian defender reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a recovery.
The drama escalated when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a video assistant referee review identified a handling offense by Bright Osayi-Samuel. Ali Abdi calmly slotted home in the dying stages to set up a frantic finale.
Tunisia came agonizingly close from a stunning equalizer in added time, with their skipper directing a chance narrowly wide before a substitute sent a half-volley wide of the upright.
Clinching First Place
The victory means that Nigeria, champions of the tournament on 3 previous occasions, advance to six group points and are assured top spot in Group C with one game left to be contested.
In the next round, they will face a third-placed team from either Group A, B or F.
In the other match, Tunisia stay on three points, with the East African teams locked on a single point each after registering a one-all draw earlier on Saturday.
The concluding pool fixtures will see Nigeria stay in the city to play Uganda on Tuesday, while Tunisia return to the capital to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Conclusion
The Tunisian defender drilled the ball from 12 yards to offer his team hope of snatching a point.
The Super Eagles, finalists in the previous tournament, are the second team after Egypt to qualify for the knockout stage, but their manager and supporters will certainly be breathing a sigh of relief.
What seemed set to be a comfortable last period transformed into a tense conclusion.
The prolific striker had a goal ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of the interval, expertly guiding a glancing effort into the bottom corner from an Atalanta winger cross.
The lead was doubled soon in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a header from a set-piece kick.
The number 9 then set up Lookman for the third goal, before the defender to steer a header past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to begin the comeback.
The key moment arrived when a high ball hit the arm of the full-back, with the official awarding a penalty after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Although Ali Abdi's confident conversion, Tunisia in the end came up just short of pulling off a remarkable comeback.
Tunisia's destiny remains in their own hands; a draw against Tunisia will be enough to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to avoid a repeat of the 2013 early elimination that led to his departure.
