The Super Eagles have been knocked out of this year’s AFCON after going down 1-0 to the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia in a Round of 16 match in Garoua on Sunday, Completesports.com reports.
Stand-in skipper Yousseff Msakni was the hero for the the Tunisians as his long range shot flew past Maduka Okoye.
Things went from bad to worse for the Super Eagles as Alex Iwobi, who came on in the second half was sent off for a dangerous tackle.
This is Tunisia’s first win against the Eagles since their semifinal penalty shootout victory in 2004 on home soil.
The Carthage Eagles will now meet Burkina Faso, who beat Gabon on penalties, in the quarterfinals.
The Eagles had the first attempt on goal in the second minute through Wilfred Ndidi whose bicycle kick went off target.
Also Read – Live Blogging: Nigeria vs Tunisia – Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021
Joe Aribo had a chance to get the first goal after a good turn inside the box but his effort was blocked for a corner.
Teams continued to probe for the opener, but nothing came out before the referee blew for half time.
Just two minutes into the second half Tunisia took the lead through Msakni who beat off Ndidi’s challenge before unleashing a long range strike which beat Maduka Okoye.
In the 55th minute Samuel Chukwueze headed the ball across goal, but Taiwo Awoniyi was beaten to the ball by the Tunisian keeper.
With 66 minutes played Iwobi was shown a straight red card after a dangerous tackle. He was initially shown a yellow card before a consultation with VAR overturned the decision.
Despite being reduced to 10 men Moses Simon had a good chance to equalize after meeting a cross, but saw his left-footed shot came off the keeper.
With 15 minutes left, Okoye was called to action and did well to palm a shot away for a corner.
Ndidi got close to scoring for the Super Eagles near the edge of the box, with two minutes left on the clock, but his low strike missed the target.
And in stoppage time Sadiq had a big chance after he was played through on goal, but saw his effort narrowly miss the target with the keeper beaten.
MATCH STATS
NIGERIA 0 – 1 TUNISIA
Scorer: Y. Msakni 47′,
Date: Sunday, January 23 2022
Venue: Roumde Adjia Stadium, Garoua
Referee: Maguette N’Diaye (Senegal)
Yellow Cards: K. Iheanacho 19′, A. Laidouni 52′, E. Skhiri 55′,
Red Card: A. Iwobi 64′
LINEUPS:
NIGERIA:
1 Maduka Okoye (GK) – 2 Ola Aina
22 Kenneth Omeruo, 5 William Troost-Ekong Capt., 12 Zaidu Sanusi
4 Wilfred Ndidi, 10 Joe Aribo (7 Ahmed Musa, 90′), 14 Kelechi Iheanacho (18 Alex Iwobi, 59′), 15 Moses Simon, 17 Samuel Chukwueze (24 Sadiq Umar, 74′),
19 Taiwo Awoniyi (28 Peter Olayinka, 60′)
Subs Not Used:
16 Daniel Akpeyi, 23 Francis Uzoho,
25 Kelechi Nwakali, 11 Henry Onyekuru, 8 Frank Onyeka, 20 Chidozie Awaziem, 6 Semi Ajayi, 3 Jamilu Collins.
Coach: Augustine Eguavoen
TUNISIA:
22 Bechir Ben Said (GK) – 2 Bilel Ifa, 3 Montassar Talbi, 5 Oussama Hadadi, 7 Youssef Msakni (10 Wahbi Khazri, 86′), 11 Seifeddine Jaziri (27 lssam Jebali, 86′), 17 Ellyes Skhiri, 19 Hamza Rafia (23 Naim Sliti, 69′), 20 Mohamed Drager,
25 Anis Ben Slimane ( 4 Omar Rekik, 90′), 28 Aissa Laidouni.
Subs Not Used:
6 Dylan Bronn, 8 Saif-Eddine Khaoui, 14 Hannibal Mejbri, 26 Ali Ejemel
Coach: Mondher Kebaier
By Adeboye Amosu in Garoua
The post Iwobi Sees Red As Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles End Super Eagles’ AFCON 2021 Title Hopes appeared first on Complete Sports.
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