Nigeria booked a place in the Round of 16 after defeating Tunisia 3-2 in Fez with goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.
Both sides came into the match with history between them.
Tunisia had knocked Nigeria out at the same stage in the 2021 AFCON, creating added motivation for the Super Eagles.
Nigeria began the game showing intent, pushing forward from the early minutes.
Osimhen tried his luck with a shot outside the box and later headed wide from a cross by Adams.
Lookman delivered Nigeria’s first corner of the match, with Osimhen rising to meet it, but his header went over the bar.
Pressure continued to build as Nigeria forced another corner shortly after, but Tunisia cleared their lines.
Osimhen had the ball in the net in the 17th minute after reacting to a rebound, but the referee ruled it offside.
It added to his tally of disallowed goals in the tournament.
Tunisia slowly found their footing midway through the first half.
They earned a corner, and Mejbri delivered from the left, but Nigeria defended well to keep the match level.
Nigeria eventually took the lead just before halftime,when Lookman crossed from the left, and Osimhen met it with a header, scoring the opener in the 44th minute.
The second half resumed with Nigeria kicking off. They quickly doubled their lead from a corner taken by Lookman.
Ndidi rose highest and headed home to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute.
Nigeria extended the advantage shortly after. Iwobi played Osimhen through on the right, who then squared a pass to Lookman.
He finished into the net for Nigeria’s third goal in the 67th minute.
Tunisia responded from a set piece in the 75th minute. A free kick into the box found Gharbi, whose flick beat Nwabali to pull one back.
Late in the match, Tunisia were awarded a penalty after Osayi-Samuel was ruled to have handled the ball. Abdi stepped up and scored to make it 3-2 in the 87th minute.
Nigeria managed the remaining minutes and held possession to see out the victory. Despite late pressure from Tunisia, the Super Eagles stayed organised.
The win sealed Nigeria’s qualification from their group and offered some measure of redemption for the 2021 meeting between both nations.
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