BY APANPA HALIMAT YETUNDE
Nigeria held on with tenacity to defeat Tunisia 3-2 in Fès on Saturday and book an early spot in the Round of 16 of ongoing the 35th Africa Cup of Nations finals.
A fabulous performance saw the Eagles lead 3-0 after 70 minutes, with goals by Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman, but a tense finish was assured when the Carthage Eagles pulled two back with three minutes to go and began to believe.
The three-time champions left no one in doubt of their objective from the first blast of Malian referee Boubou Traore’s whistle, as they imposed themselves on the game and asked several questions of the Tunisian defence within the first quarter-hour, as Osimhen, Lookman and Akor Adams probed relentlessly.
After coming close on a number of occasions, Osimhen thought he had given Nigeria the lead in the 17th minute, when he stabbed in as the Tunisian goalkeeper parried a shot by Adams. His effort was ruled offside.
The talismanic forward would not be denied his first goal of this AFCON, as he leaped high to head the ball firmly into the net in the 44th minute after a deep cross by Lookman.
Five minutes into the second half, Nigeria were 2-0 up, as Lookman’s teasing corner was all that captain Wilfred Ndidi needed to score his first goal for Nigeria at senior level, on his 73rd cap.
The Eagles were relentless in chasing every ball, and it was no surprise when Lookman, who had assisted the first two goals, scored his second of the tournament by leaving the defence in tatters and striking the ball into the net through the low upright, after a brilliant team move that saw Alex Iwobi and Osimhen exploit gaps in the Carthage Eagles’ rearguard.
Iwobi, on his 93rd cap, was again magnificent with excellent ball distribution on the park.
Tunisia got one goal back off a free-kick from the right that was headed into the net by Montassar Talbi, and in the 87th minute, Ali Abdi made no mistake from the spot after Traore consulted the VAR and decided a foul had been committed in Nigeria’s vital area.
The goal made for a tense finish, but Nigeria held on to pick maximum points and leap to the top of the group, with six points, ahead of Tuesday’s clash with the Cranes of Uganda.