AfriPulse
The Super Eagles defeated Tunisia 3-2 to book their place in the second round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in style at the Fez Stadium in Morocco on Saturday.
Eric Chelle made two changes to the side that defeated Tanzania 2-1 in their first match with Bruno Onyemaechi replacing Zaidu Sanusi, and Frank Onyeka taking the place of Samuel Chukwueze.
Osimhen was presented with Nigeria’s first chance of the encounter in the sixth minute but his effort failed to hit the target.
The Galatasaray forward thought he had given Nigeria the lead in the 17th minute but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Osimhen opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 44th minute with a powerful header from a sublime cross from Ademola Lookman.
Five minutes after the restart, Lookman turned provider again as Wilfred Ndidi headed in his corner to make it 2-0 in favour for Nigeria.
Lookman finally got his name on the score sheet with a fine individual goal in the 64th minute thanks to an assist from Victor Osimhen to set Nigeria on course for a vital victory.
Tunisia reduced the deficit in the 75th minute through Montassar Talbi, assisted by Hannibal Mejbri.
The North Africans were buoyed by the goal as they began to pile pressure on the Super Eagles, their pressure paid off when the referee penalised Bright Osayi-Samuel for a handball.
The resulting penalty was converted by Ali Abdi to make it 3-2 which ensured a nervy finish to the encounter but the Super Eagles were able to hold on to grab the maximum points.
The victory was enough to seal Nigeria’s place in the second round of the tournament with a game to spare.
Ademola Lookman recorded two assists, and scored one goal to take his tally to two goals, and two assists in his first two games in the tournament.
The Super Eagles will navigate their third game against Uganda on Tuesday with no pressure, but Tunisia need a positive result against Tanzania to advance to the next round.
In the other group C match on Saturday, Uganda, and Tanzania played out a 1-1 draw.
Source: TheWhistler | Read the Full Story…
