GAROUA, Cameroon
Tunisia are through to the quarter final stage at the on-going TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021.
The Eagles
of Carthage defeated 10-man Super Eagles of Nigeria 1-0 in a round of
16 match played at the Roumdé Adjia Stadium in Garoua this evening.
After
a goalless first half skipper Youssef Msakni gave Tunisia the lead two minutes
after recess. Maskni beat one defender and found space to shoot from outside
the box. Nigerian goalkeeper Emil Okoye had a touch on the ball, but it rested
in the net.
The
first half was a balanced affair although the Tunisians blocked lots of the
Super Eagles wing play.
Nigeria’s
Moses Simon, Wilfred Ndidi and Samuel Chukwueze had all missed chances early in
the first five minutes. The Eagles of Carthage defended well and made sure they
dominated more of the possession play.
In
the 47th minute Msakni’s goal made the difference before Nigeria’s
substitute Alexander Iwobi was sent off after 66th minute.
Iwobi
who plies his trade for Everton in the English Premier League had replaced
Kelechi Iheanacho in the 59th minute, but his bad tackle on the Tunisian
captain Msakni saw him earn an early send-off to the dressing room.
The
Supers Eagles who won all their matches in the Group stage did not give up and
kept pushing forward to try and get a goal, but the Tunisians defended as a
unit.
Nigerian
goalkeeper Okoye was on hand to punch away a well struck Naim Sliti shot after
74 minutes. Simon Moses also had a chance to level matters for Nigeria, but his
freekick from outside the box missed the target. With goalkeeper beaten,
Nigeria's substitute Sadoq Umar had his shot miss the target by inches.
In
the Group stage Tunisia started with a 1-0 defeat to Mali, before they humbled
Mauritania 4-0. They fell 1-0 to newcomers in the AFCON stage Gambia in the
last group match to only qualify as one of the best losers. For the Super
Eagles they stopped Egypt 1-0, saw off Sudan 3-1 and handed Guinea Bissau a 2-0
defeat.
The
Eagles of Carthage who have only won the AFCON once in 2004 will now face
Burkina Faso in the quarter final stage. - Cafonline
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