Dylan Bettencourt
The African Cup of Nations has drawn up yet another major shock as Tunisia knocked out tournament favourites Nigeria with a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
Despite the Northern Africans having to deal with a Covid-19 nightmare before their final group stage fixture, and being without their manager, Mondher Kebaier, who is Covid-19 positive – Tunisia stunned the soaring Super Eagles to advance to the Afcon quarterfinals.
Nigeria won all three of their group stage games and had many believing they would go all the way and even win the competition. They started the fixture looking like champions, putting Tunisia on the backfoot from the onset.
For the most part, it was as if we were watching a “Super Eagle” hunting their prey, waiting for the right moment to pounce but that moment never arose.
But a defensive masterclass from Tunisia ensured they remained on course to win their second Afcon title, after winning their first nearly two decades ago in their home country.
The Nigerians were stunned, for all their possession and dominance, Tunisia found the back of the net through a stunning long-range effort from Youssef Msakni – bar a minor goalkeeping error.
The Super Eagles however remained calm and kept putting the pressure on but that was all to change with the introduction of Alex Iwobi. The Everton star was on the field for mere minutes before he was shown a harsh red card.
The winger attempted to turn a Tunisian defender when he caught him on the ankle in what looked to be accidental, the referee however ruled otherwise and sent Iwobi for an early shower with his side’s chances dwindling.
For all Tunisia’s issues during this Afcon campaign, the Northern Africans showed incredible fight and determination to keep the Nigerians at bay and keep a clean sheet.
Nigeria has now joined the likes of Algeria and Ghana as the latest to fall in this astonishing tournament. The form guide as they say, has been thrown out the window in Cameroon.
Image source: @YesWeCrann
