It was certainly a competitive start to proceedings, but neither goalkeeper was worked in the early stages, as Hannibal Mejbri snatched at his attempt and Victor Osimhen uncharacteristically guided two headers off-target from promising positions inside 11 minutes.
Osimhen was then left frustrated yet again, as the striker reacted to convert after Akor Adams’ shot was parried, but saw his goal ruled out having strayed offside.
The Super Eagles had established a greater level of control despite that not being reflected by the scoreline, and the trend continued with Osimhen sending another header wide from Calvin Bassey’s cross.
Ali Abdi then saw an ambitious strike fizz over Stanley Nwabali’s crossbar as the Eagles of Carthage started to show intent of their own. Wilfred Ndidi fired over at the other end, shortly before Osimhen finally scored the goal he craved in the 44th minute, getting away from Montassar Talbi to head home Ademola Lookman’s cross before letting out his emotion in the celebration.
Eric Chelle’s side stayed on the front foot after the restart and had their second within five minutes, as his captain, Ndidi, rose to head in Lookman’s corner for his first-ever Nigeria goal. Lookman saw a shot of his own shortly after, and Tunisia’s frustrations soon grew as the whistle was blown for a foul on Mejbri despite Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane being released, especially as he was then taken out by Nwabali and went off injured.
Adams had a shot blocked before Ben Romdhane could be replaced, but Sami Trabelsi’s full contingent being restored didn’t make a difference. In the 67th minute, a swift move culminated in Lookman dancing away from Yan Valery and finishing clinically despite bodies getting back on the line.
With a quarter-hour remaining, Tunisia pulled one back when Talbi glanced Mejbri’s free-kick past Nwabali to reduce the deficit. Bright Osayi-Samuel then handled the ball while jumping with Talbi to concede a penalty that Abdi emphatically converted in the 87th minute, truly reigniting Tunisian hopes.
Ferjani Sassi came agonisingly close to heading in an equaliser but sank to his knees as the ball went wide, as Nigeria took their record to seven wins from their last eight group stage matches at AFCON finals, ensuring they will feature in the knockout rounds.
This represents a first defeat in Tunisia’s last five matches, but the Eagles of Carthage still sit second in the group ahead of their match against Tanzania.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ademola Lookman (Nigeria)