4 Times Nigeria Defeated Tunisia At The AFCON Tournament

The super eagles of Nigeria will be facing Tunisia in the round of 16 of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon. Recall that the Nigeria Super Eagles have been in top form Since the tournament began in January, the squad defeated Egypt, with a goal to nil, played 3 – 1 against South Sudan and a 2 – 0 victory against Guinea Bissau.

Tunisia on their own part have suffered two defeats against Mali and Gambia,  they were only able to qualify to the round of 16 as one of the best losers after amassing three points after a 4 -0 victory against Mauritania,

The two teams have faced each other a total of five matches since the continental tournament began in 1957 with Nigeria winning Four and the North African country winning just one.

1. The 1978  third-place match

The first time Tunisia played against the Super Eagles at the AFCON was the 1978 competition third-place match. The match got fierce after a Tunisian player  Muhammed Akid scored a goal against Nigeria in the 19th minute. Super eagles struggled to equalize until the last minutes of the first half thanks to Baba Otu.

The Tunisians however faulted the officiating of Togo’s Théophile Lawson-Hétchéli, the centre referee, and walked off the pitch in protest. They refused to re-emerge, and Nigeria was awarded a 2-0 win while Tunisia was banned from the tournament’s next edition.

2. Group Stage, AFCON 2000

The super eagles and the Tunisia football squad faced each other again at AFCON 2000 hosted by Nigeria and Ghana. The Match saw the massacre of the Tunisia squad because the Super Eagles then included Kanu Nwankwo, the best African Player of the previous year, Jay-Jay Okocha and Nigeria’s golden generation of players.

The onslaught began at the 27th minute with Jay-Jay Okocha giving Nigeria a 1-0 lead,  although Adel Sellimi equalised for Tunisia with a 48th-minute header, Okocha and victor Ikepba added 3 extra goals. The Tunisians pulled one more goal ending the game at 4-2.

3. Semi-final of the 2004 AFCON

The super eagles met the Tunisia squad again in 2004, and the result was different from the last time. the first goal of the match didn’t come until the 65th minute when Kanu was tackled in the Tunisian goal area by Karim Haggui, resulting in a penalty goal from Jay jay Okocha. Tunisia also got their own penalty a few minutes later after Seyi Olofinjana brought down Ziad Jaziri in the Nigerian  Box 18 leading to a 1-1 draw

The game spiralled into a penalty shootout with no further goal scored throughout the extra time. Tunisia however secured a 5-3 victory against Nigeria.

4. Quarter-final of the 2006 AFCON

The Eagles met again at the quarter-final of the 2006 AFCON held in Egypt. The Super Eagles in aim to revenge for their last loss scored an early goal in the sixth minute of the game. The Tunisia team equalized with a header just after the halftime break and also secured a penalty that was saved by Vincent Enyeama, the veteran Nigerian Goal Keeper.

The game dragged into a penalty shootout, and Nigeria was able to secure a 6-5 victory thanks to Vincent Enyeama alertness to stop the Tunisians after Joseph Yobo and Yusuf Ayila missed their kicks in quick succession.

5. 2019 Third place match

The Super Eagles faced Tunisia in another AFCON third-place match in 2019. Nigeria was able to secure a  1-0 victory thanks s to Odion Ighalo’s third-minute goal after the Tunisian defence had fluffed a simple cross from Jamilu Collins.

We sincerely hope that the Super Eagles will be able to secure another victory against the Tunisia Carthage Eagles and make it into the Quarter Final in the ongoing AFCON.