By Akinwale Kasali
Moustafa Msakni 49th minutes strike was all the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia needed to send one of the African Cup of Nations favourites, Super Eagles of Nigeria, out of the tournament.
It came as a surprise to millions of Soccer fans that COVID-19 decimated Tunisian team would defeat the highly rated Nigerian team who got to the Round of 16 with a 100 percent record.Tunisian team qualified as one of the Third Best placed Teams.
Interim Coach Augustine Eguavoen started the game with his usual first eleven, with same set of players that prosecuted the Group matches between the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Falcons of Sudan.
The Super Eagles showed some flashes in the opening stages of the match but they did not result to any positive end as the Tunisians curtailed the Super Eagles attack line of Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon and Taiwo Awoniyi.
The Tunisians were compact in the defense, ending the first half on a good note.
As the second half commenced, Tunisia got the early goal with a superb strike outside the 18 yard box after outwitting the Super Eagles defense, beating Maduka Okoye in goal to get the deserved lead.
Unfortunately, Eguavoen brought in Alex Iwobi to replace Iheanacho, while Peter Olayinka replaced Awoniyi, with the sub not leading to the deserved result. Rather, a mis-timed tackle by Iwobi on a Tunisian would-have-been scorer resulted in a red card for Iwobi, compounding the woes of Nigeria.
The red card to Iwobi changed the dynamics of the game, with Tunisia gaining more confidence, and keeping possession of the ball.
The Super Eagles almost got the equalizer but Goalkeeper Ben Said of Tunisia made a crucial save to deny Simon a goal.
Another chance came begging for the three-time AFCON champion through Sadiq Umar, but he fired wide, as the Tunisia kept the Super Eagles at bay till the final whistle was blown, shattering the hope of the Nigeria team.
With the victory, the Carthage Eagles will face the Stallion of Burkina Faso in the Quarterfinals, following the Burkinabes defeat of The Panthers of Gabon 8-7 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time.
