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Nigeria weathered a stunning late rally from their opponents to advance to the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations being held in Morocco.

Jose Peseiro's side appeared to be in complete control in their pool encounter in the Moroccan city, enjoying a 3-0 lead with only 17 minutes left courtesy of goals from Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.

However, a Tunisian defender pulled one back with a powerful header from a Hannibal Mejbri set-piece, sparking hopes of a recovery.

The tension escalated when the North Africans were awarded a late penalty after a video assistant referee check spotted a handling offense by the Nigerian defender. Ali Abdi converted in the dying stages to create a nail-biting conclusion.

The Carthage Eagles came agonizingly close from a last-gasp equalizer in added time, with captain Ferjani Sassi directing a opportunity just past the post before a substitute guided a bobbling volley wide of the goal frame.

Clinching First Place

The victory means that the Super Eagles, winners of the competition on 3 past instances, advance to 6 group points and are assured first place in Group C with one game still to be contested.

For the round of 16, they will meet a third-placed team from either the other preliminary groups.

In the other match, Tunisia remain on three group points, with the East African teams tied on a single point after playing out a 1-1 stalemate earlier on Saturday.

The final group matches will see Nigeria stay in Fes to play the Cranes on Tuesday, while the Eagles of Carthage return to Rabat to confront Tanzania.

A Nervy Finish

Nigeria, finalists in the 2023 edition, become the next team after the Pharaohs to qualify for the next phase, but their manager and fans will certainly be feeling relieved.

What seemed set to be a straightforward last period transformed into a nerve-wracking conclusion.

The prolific striker had a effort ruled out for an infringement before opening the scoring on the stroke of the interval, precisely placing a header into the bottom corner from an Ademola Lookman cross.

The lead was extended soon in the second half when the Leicester City midfielder climbed above everyone to power home a powerful nod from a set-piece kick.

Osimhen then turned provider his teammate for the seemingly decisive goal, only for the defender to direct a powerful header past the Nigerian shot-stopper to initiate the fightback.

The key moment came when a looping cross struck the arm of Bright Osayi-Samuel, with the official awarding a penalty after consulting the pitchside screen.

Although Ali Abdi's successful penalty, the 2004 champions in the end fell short of pulling off a stirring comeback.

Their fate is still in their own hands; a draw against Tanzania will be sufficient to see them through, and their coach will be eager to avoid a recurrence of the past group-stage exit that resulted in his previous resignation.