The Super Eagles have joined Egypt as the second team to qualify for the round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Tunisia 3-2 on Saturday.
The Super Eagles dominated the early possession of the game and also prevented the Carthage Eagles from having any space to conjure an attack.
Victor Osimhen had Nigeria’s first shot on target in the 4th minute of the game when his shot whistled past the goalpost. A few minutes later, the Galatasaray striker almost broke the deadlock, but his header went over the bar.
Osimhen, however, put the Super Eagles ahead in the 17th minute after the Tunisian goalkeeper spilled Adams’ shot towards him, but it was judged offside by the center referee.
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In the 29th minute, a well-tailored cross from Calvin Bassey was not well connected by Osimhen with his head.
However, Tunisia had their first real attack in the 31st minute, but Semi Ajayi was on red alert to clear the danger away. The Carthage Eagles had another attack in the 35th minute through Addi’s cutback that was cleared away by Bassey in the 18-yard box.
Osimhen eventually broke the deadlock in the 44th minute thanks to a brilliant cross from Lookman for the Nigerian striker, who beautifully headed the ball straight into the back of the net.
At the resumption of the second half, Wilfred Ndidi extended Nigeria’s lead to 2-0 when he headed in a Lookman-tailored corner kick in the 50th minute.
The Super Eagles took the game beyond the reach of the Tunisians as Lookman marked his superb display with a dazzling goal in the 66th minute.
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Tunisia pulled one back in the 74th minute thanks to a brilliant header from Montassar Talbi, giving the Carthage Eagles some hope of a comeback.
In the 81st minute, the Tunisian almost reduced the deficit, but Hazem Mastouri failed to connect with the ball. A few minutes later, Tunisia was awarded a penalty, which was converted by Abdi in the 87th minute to reduce the scoreline to 3-2.
Sassi almost leveled parity in the 94th minute but his header went wide. All effort by Tunisia to equalize the game proved abortive as the Super Eagles sealed the maximum three points.
MATCH STATISTICS
Nigeria 3-2 Tunisia
GOAL SCORERS: NIGERIA
Victor Osimhen
(44 min)
Wilfred Ndidi
(50 min)
Ademola Lookman
(67 min)
GOAL SCORER: TUNISIA
Montassar Talbi
(74 min)
Ali Abdi
(87 min)
LINE-UP: NIGERIA
Stanley Nwabali
Osayi-Samuel
Calvin Bassey
Semi Ajayi
Onyemaechi
Frank Onyeka
Wilfred Ndidi
Alex Iwobi
Ademola Lookman
Akor Adams
Victor Osimhen
SUBSTITUTES
Moses Simon
(Akor Adams, 78 min)
Chidera Ejuke
(Frank Onyeka, 78 min)
Chidozie Awaziem
(Ademola Lookman 92 min)
HEAD COACH: Eric Chelle
LINE-UP: TUNISIA
Aymen Dahmen
Yan Valery
Montassar Talbi
Dylan Bronn
Ali Abdi
Ferjani Sassi
Ellyes Skhiri
Hannibal Mejbri
Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane
Mohamed Elias Achouri
Hazem Mastouri
SUBSTITUTES
Sebastian Tounekti
(Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, 61 min)
Ismaël Gharbi
(Mohamed Elias Achouri, 75 min)
HEAD COACH: Sami Trabelsi
By James Agberebi in Fes, Morocco
11 Comments
Seems the Nigerian Coaching crew cannot manage Victory. Its been a recurring decimal. Its was wrong to substitute Frank Onyenka the Tanka when you were leading and need to see out games. What I see Coaches like morinho do is to remove an attacker and introduce a defender. It was obvious that Our midfield Colapse has soon as Onyenka was taken off. Another thing I want to add is that Ndidi should stop committing committing rough tackles in Dangerous area. He committed the offence to led to Marehs winning God against Nigeria in the semi final
What are you typing??
When did Nigeria play Algeria in Semi final, that Mahrez scored???
Type well please.
Yes 4-4-2 was correct. That was at Afcon 2019 in Egypt Semi-final under Coach Gernot Rohr when Nigeria were beaten 2-1 by Algeria. Ndidi committed similar late foul closer to the 18-yard box and Riyad Mahrez scored the resulting Freekick to boot out Nigeria from the competition which Nigeria went on to beat Tunisia 1-0 (Odion Ighalo lonely goal) in the loser’s final get a Bronze medal podium finish.
It’s Ndidi that Chelle should have removed when he got tired and replaced with either Onyedika or Usman Mohammed to keep the midfield tight as it was for 70mins of play in the game against Tunisia last night.
2019 AFCON in Egypt Mahrez scored a free kick
@Supatemmy, sorry for the typo error. Actually, i cant remember the year. But i remember its 3 Editions ago when Rohr was the Coach. Ndidi committed same foul at the edge of the box and Marhez converted the resulting freek kick and Nigeria crashed out in the semi .
That was the match that finally retired Akpeyi as our national goalkeeper
Hannibal of Carthage falls to defeat.
The referee tried valiantly to save him, but failed. He conjured a penalty from nothing, out of nowhere. But he could not save Carthage from defeat.
Tunisia was TOTALLY OUTPAYED. At a point, it looked like a Nigeria training session. If only we were more ruthless in front of goal! Tunisia would have needed a molue bus to carry all the goals back to Tunis.
The extra midfielder in Onyeka provided the much needed balance. And the good news is we have several other midfielders on the bench that can also do a good job. We are spoilt for choice in the midfield. No more paper thin midfield for Nigeria.
The 2 things we need to work on now:
1) The finishing. We need to be more clinical upfront.
2) Game management. We need to do a better job of seeing out games.Tunisia came from the dead to almost equalize. Yes, they need to send that ref a THANK YOU card, and possibly honor him with a chieftaincy title. But even with the ref’s help, Tunisia still should have remained shackled. It’s our fault that they found a second wind towards the end of the game. We need to do better in this regard.
True @Pompei. We certainly need to do better in our game management; the problem is becoming too recurrent in Chelle’s games- wrong substitutions, tiring defence and inability to see off teams from comfortable winning positions.
You are very spot on in your assessment: Good tactical formation and drive for the best of 70mins and then poor changes and tactical collapse in last embers of the games supervised by Chelle. It is becoming too recurring in Chelle’s games: Starting from when he was Mali’s Coach at the last Afcon (2023 Qtr finals- Ivory Coast V Mali). His game management cost Mali, making wrong substitutions late on and urging his wards to keep attacking instead of defending his lead as extra times was just 2 minutes to end.
Against Zimbabwe in Uyo WCQ Md5- he again made the wrong substitutions bringing in attackers instead of midfielder or defender to replace a tired Ndidi and possibly Ekong. That cost Nigeria the home win that Nigeria desperately needed to claw back the points deficit SA and Benin had acquired at that stage.
Against Ghana in June 2025 in the Unity Cup, Nigeria appeared to be cruising with a 2 goals lead and then strangely he brings in Iheanacho and I think Musa instead of a Defensive midfielder to halt Ghana’s uptake in 2nd half and ended up conceding a goal and putting his defence under huge pressure for the remainder of the tie; and then the unpardonable removal of Akor who was tormenting the Tunisian defenders no end; and then Onyeka who held the midfield tight that the Tunisians ceded that area to SE when he was in the game.
If Onyeka was tired then you expect another Defensive midfielder replacement when you are leading 3-0: Onyedika, Tochukwu Nnadi, Akinsamiro and Usman Mohammed were all on the Bench sitting idly, so why bring another Attacker who cannot defend in the mold of Chidera Ejuke?
It is becoming too recurrent and I cannot cut Chelle some slack on this obvious deficiency in his managerial skills set! It was pardonable in his Zimbabwe fiasco as he was then new to his players then but he is now been with boys for about a full year in charge and such error of judgement cannot be accepted at this stage.
Same ref. Shd as well gave nwabali his matching order with that reckless tackle but ignored it and issue no card at all. You predicted if that dude usually take something before entering the field yesterday and I kinda second you on that, I’ve rewatched that very incident and nwabali saw bassey walking and not attacking the player already bcos bassey already heard the whistle from the ref. Why launch on the player again? Aside that I kinda think we still need keep looking for formidable GK. Nwabali is kinda rigid/stiff and it kinda affect his reflecting.
I will surely start osagie against Uganda, he didn’t perform that bad against Egypt when he was introduced.
TonyK, perhaps a solution is to pour ice cold water on his head in the last 15 mins of games. It seems he makes ridiculous mistakes when his head starts overheating.
Chelle is doing well. Very well. But avoidable mistakes are best avoided.
As you said, it’s incredulous that he keeps repeating the same mistake by sacrificing a midfielder for an extra forward. If he does this against a more compact side, we are done for. We need to always ensure that the midfield is adequately manned to keep control.
There is still something fundamentally off about Chelle’s game, and this match laid it bare. His biggest weakness remains in-game management. He struggles to read momentum, and too often his substitutions disrupt rhythm rather than reinforce control.
Taking Onyeka off was outright football malpractice. He was the steel that allowed Iwobi to breathe, dictate, and thrive. Onyeka gave the midfield balance, bite, and structure at precisely the moment Tunisia were winding up to chase a goal. Removing him destabilised the entire unit and handed Tunisia belief. You do not remove your ballast in turbulent waters.
Then came the baffling decision to introduce two attacking players while Nigeria were 3–0 up and completely in control. That was not a moment for ambition; it was a moment for paranoia. Three goals against Tunisia is a luxury. Game management demanded compactness, discipline, and territorial control, not needless adventure.
Even more worrying was Chelle’s refusal to address the obvious danger on the right flank. Tunisia had clearly identified Osayi-Samuel as Nigeria’s defensive soft spot and relentlessly overloaded him with intelligent runs. The introduction of Tounekti only escalated the problem, yet there was no tactical response—no cover, no adjustment, no double-up. Why not shut that side down with Awaziem, or at least provide protection? That wing was screaming for intervention.
And then there’s Ejuke. Introducing him in that context was another misread. He plays like a footballer more interested in entertaining the crowd with repetitive, low-yield dribbles than making mature, structured movements or decisive passes. In that game state, he was the wrong profile entirely. Chukwueze would have offered penetration with purpose, while Simon Moses would have brought balance and defensive responsibility. Either option made more tactical sense.
To compound it all, pressing high with 20 minutes left, three goals ahead, and Tunisia throwing everything forward was tactically naïve. Chelle’s teams consistently look unsettled when defending a lead, especially in high-octane moments. There is no instinct to kill games, no emotional control of match situations, and that is a coaching flaw.
Then there’s Nwabali. His performances in this tournament are raising concerns—late decision-making off his line, poor positioning, rash choices, and unnecessary aggression, including charging out after the whistle had already gone. These are warning signs. Yes, Nigeria has scored freely since Chelle took over, but they have also conceded far too easily. That imbalance is dangerous.
And here is the uncomfortable truth: football at the highest level is not won on vibes and goals alone. It is won on control, discipline, and mastery of moments. I like Chelle as a coach. Since his arrival, Nigeria has become a goal-scoring machine, playing directly to the strengths of Osimhen and Lookman. But these flaws must be fixed. If not, Nigeria will continue flirting with danger—and that is precisely why this team failed to make the World Cup.
On to the next one. But the warning signs are no longer subtle.