The Super Eagles Book Afcon Knockout Place Despite Fierce Tunisia Fightback
Ex- Continent's Best Player of the Year Victor Osimhen was instrumental in Nigeria build a commanding lead, before they were forced to defend resolutely for a narrow victory.
The three-time champions weathered a stunning late rally from their opponents to progress to the knockout stage of the Afcon tournament taking place in Morocco.
The Super Eagles appeared to be cruising in their pool encounter in Fes, enjoying a 3-0 cushion with just a quarter of an hour left courtesy of goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
Yet, Montassar Talbi reduced the deficit with a powerful header from a Manchester United midfielder set-piece, igniting hopes of a turnaround.
The tension escalated when Tunisia were awarded a late penalty after a VAR review identified a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. The left-back calmly slotted home in the 87th minute to set up a frantic finale.
Tunisia were inches away from a last-gasp equalizer in stoppage time, with their skipper heading a opportunity just past the post before Ismael Gharbi guided a half-volley past the upright.
Clinching Top Spot
This result means that the Super Eagles, winners of the competition on three previous occasions, move to 6 points and are assured top spot in their pool with a match still to be contested.
In the next round, they will meet a third-placed side from one of the other preliminary groups.
In the other match, Tunisia remain on 3 points, with the East African teams locked on one point after playing out a one-all stalemate in the day's other fixture.
The concluding group fixtures will see the group leaders remain in Fes to play Uganda on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage travel back to the capital to confront the Taifa Stars.
An Anxious Finish
The Tunisian defender smashed home from the penalty spot to give Tunisia hope of snatching a point.
The Super Eagles, runners-up in the previous tournament, become the next nation after Egypt to qualify for the next phase, but coach Eric Chelle and supporters will undoubtedly be feeling relieved.
What seemed set to be a straightforward final quarter morphed into a nerve-wracking conclusion.
The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time, expertly guiding a header into the far post from an Atalanta winger delivery.
The advantage was doubled soon in the second period when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to thump in a header from a Lookman kick.
Osimhen then set up his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, before the defender to direct a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to begin the comeback.
The pivotal moment arrived when a looping cross struck the forearm of the full-back, with referee Boubou Traore pointing to the spot after reviewing the VAR monitor.
Despite the defender's successful penalty, the 2004 champions ultimately came up just short of pulling off a remarkable recovery.
Their fate remains in their control; a draw against Tanzania will be sufficient to see them through, and manager Sami Trabelsi will be eager to prevent a repeat of the 2013 group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.