I’ll leave you with news of Burkina Faso’s dramatic penalty shoot-out win against Gabon earlier today. Congrats to Tunisia on a fine win this evening and commiserations to Super Eagles everywhere. Thanks for reading. See you soon for more.
Updated
Eleven days is a long time at the Africa Cup of Nations. Tunisia were left fuming after their opener against Mali, when the referee blew the final whistle early ... now they’re into the quarter-finals.
Full-time! Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia!
Incredible. Nigeria won all their group matches, but they are out. Tunisia edged into the last 16 with two defeats and one victory in their group. It’s an absolutely classic smash-and-grab raid by Tunisia. They were collectively magnificent in defence, and Msakni’s opportunist goal, early in the second half, settled it. Alex Iwobi of Everton was sent off soon after coming on, arguably a little harshly, and Nigeria simply could not break down a resolute Tunisian rearguard. Tunisia march on to meet Burkina Faso in the last eight.
Updated
90 min + 4: Slimane off, Omar Rekik of Arsenal comes on. The Tunisian fans are pictured having one hell of a party up in the stands ...
90 min + 3: Into the third minute of stoppage time. Khazri brings the ball out of defence for Tunisia. Nigeria have to get busy inside the next 120 seconds or so ...
90 min: Wow! So close for Nigeria! Sadiq bursts on to a fine ball in behind and tries to pass the ball into the net from an angle. He beats the goalie, but the ball rolls slowly, agonisingly, wide of the post!!
89 min: As the clock ticks towards 90 minutes, Ndidi loses the ball in midfield. We will have five minutes, minimum, of added time.
Updated
88 min: Ahmed Musa comes on for Nigeria, replacing Aribo.
87 min: Nigeria’s Ndidi has space, and a sight of goal, from 25 yards. He hits a right-footed shot but drags it wide of the left-hand post.
Updated
85 min: Inside the final five minutes. Msakni and Jaziri go off, Jebali and Khazri come on. Khazri is obviously over his bout of Covid, which is good to see ... if Tunisia can hold out here, they will really fancy a deep run into the tournament with some of their best players becoming available again.
Updated
82 min: Simon hits the free-kick right-footed. It’s powerful, it’s curling, but it flies over the wall and over the crossbar. Was that the big chance for Nigeria? Will they get another sight of goal?
Updated
81 min: Sadiq bursts forward for Nigeria with intent, and wins a free-kick right on the edge of the area after Skhiri dives in ...
Updated
78 min: Omeruo hauls down Laidouni with Tunisia searching for a second goal. He’s lucky not to go in the book. Nigeria head down to the other end and win a corner. Tunisia’s defence holds firms again.
74 min: Chukwueze off, Sadiq on for Nigeria. Sliti, who just came on for Rafia for Tunisia, belts a fine shot which is flying in – but Okoye manages to beat it out.
The sad truth for Nigeria, up until now, is that they haven’t shown enough in attack. They’ve got 15 minutes or so to find something from somewhere.
Updated
73 min: Chukwueze of Nigeria twists and turns in the penalty area and hits a right-footed shot which careens over the goal.
Updated
69 min: Simon goes close for Nigeria as they mount a couple of attacks and aim to hit back immediately from that shocking blow of Iwobi’s dismissal. Tunisia, as they tend to do, hold firm.
66 min: Red card for Nigeria! Iwobi is sent off!
Well well. That was a poor challenge by Iwobi on the goalscorer Msakni, no doubt. Was it a red card? Perhaps to the letter of the law it was ... but it looked particularly innocuous in real time. Once the referee went to the screen and looked at the slow-motion replays of Iwobi’s studs making contact with Msakni’s ankle, it was all over. Iwobi was on the field for all of seven minutes.
Updated
62 min: This has an air of inevitability for Nigeria at the moment, with the way they have performed. Unless they can get something going in attack, they are going out. Tunisia may be ravaged by Covid but they are performing above expectations. Now, Iwobi is booked soon after coming on, showing his studs to Msakni. The referee is actually checking for a red card ...
59 min: The Nigeria coach Augustine Eguavoen has seen enough, and he freshens up his front two. Iheaneacho off, Iwobi on, with Olayinka also joining the action for Awoniyi.
58 min: On the left wing for Nigeria, Sanusi tries to play in Simon on the overlap, but overhits the pass. That was sloppy. And it’s the story of Nigeria’s attacking play so far this evening. Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi is being readied to come on.
56 min: “I’m not betting on Nigeria to prevail in this one,” Justin emails (or rather emailed, when it was still 0-0). “Because my sister was born there, and because of their wonderfully green kit, I have a soft spot for the Super Eagles. But they always find a way to disappoint you in the end. Good luck to them anyway.”
Updated
53 min: Skhiri is booked for a bit of a naughty tackle on Iheanacho. Nigeria launch the ball forwards from the free-kick but they don’t look likely to trouble the Tunisian back line.
Updated
Tunisia launch an attack down their left wing. Msakni does well to cut inside, beyond his marker. He’s about 25, maybe 28 yards from goal and has time and space to wind up a shot. It’s a seriously powerful right-footed effort, which stays low and swerves left-to-right, and skids off the grass just in front of the Nigeria goalkeeper Okoye. He gets a hand to it, but never looks well set enough to keep it out. The ball ricochets off his glove and into the top corner! The smash-and-grab for Tunisia, lucky losers in the group stage, is very much on!
Updated
Goal! 46 min: Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia (Msakni)
They’ve done it!
Updated
Second-half kick-off!
Nigeria huddle before the whistle. And we’re back under way for the second half.
Half-time reading:
Half-time! Nigeria 0-0 Tunisia
If Tunisia are playing for penalties - or a smash-and-grab 1-0 win – then it’s job done so far. They’ve been very solid and well-drilled in defence. Nigeria have shown flashes here and there, but you feel they need a dash more creativity if they are going to unlock this Tunisia defence. See you in a few minutes for more.
Updated
42 min: Awoniyi finds space on the left wing for Nigeria and bends a hopeful cross into the mixer. No one is on hand to meet it.
39 min: Rafia cracks a curling shot from distance for Tunisia, but doesn’t wrap his foot around it sufficiently and it travels high and wide of goal.
38 min: Nigeria pump a long diagonal ball over the top. In keeping with their display so far, Drager executes a superbly cool defensive header, looping it back to the gloveman, Ben Said, who comfortable catches. You have to applaud this defending.
35 min: Very, very solid from Tunisia in defence so far. Nigeria have been restricted to a couple of half-chances at best. They do appear to be playing a front three, but seem to have an extra man in defence, too.
Updated
31 min: What’s happening on the pitch? I must say, not an awful lot at the moment. It’s not one for the purists. Or is it one for the purists? I am never sure about that. Don’t forget, you can email me if you like!
Match report!
26 min: Defences remain on top. Tunisia are semi-parking the bus against a side they know are very dangerous in attack. A chorus of trumpets and drums is audible from the crowd. Awoniyi is penalised for backing into Talbi as they contest a long ball over the top. There hasn’t really been a clear sight of goal for either side. But there is a lot on the line.
Updated
22 min: This has been hard-fought so far. Tunisia are showing their danger on the break and defending stoutly. They may have had plenty of Covid cases in the camp, including for the captain and former Sunderland man Wahbi Khazri, but they are going to take some shifting from this tournament.
Updated
19 min: Chukwueze makes inroads on the right for Nigeria. Tunisia defend it well – and Msakni is running the ball out of defence on their left wing when he is unceremoniously elbowed in the face by Iheanacho of Leicester. Quite rightly, the Foxes forward goes in the referee’s notebook.
Updated
17 min: Chance for Nigeria! Awoniyi nearly gets on the end of a cross from the right wing, but the defender just does enough to deny him.
15 min: Aside from that volley by Talbi for Tunisia, and the shot by Aribo for Nigeria, not a massive amount of goalmouth action yet.
Live match photos appear to be thin on the ground right now but here’s Fabolude Kudus, a Nigeria fan, in Garoua earlier.
11 min: Now Nigeria threaten. Aribo gets the ball at his feet in the penalty area, turns sharply and hits a low left-footed shot which is deflected into the side netting. Nigeria get a corner – but nothing comes of it.
9 min: Talbi goes close for Tunisia with a volley! Nearly the opener against the run of play! They break down their right wing and a cross is hung up to the far post ... Talbi meets it with a sweet first-time shot but Okoye, in the Nigeria goal, beats it out.
6 min: Awoniyi and Iheanacho are playing in a front two for Nigeria, by the looks of the opening stages. Their formation is listed as a 4-2-3-1 on the official site but I’m not sure that’s accurate. No clear sight of goal for either side so far but Nigeria in the ascendancy.
4 min: Tunisia are yet to launch an attack, or even spend any time in the Nigeria half. It’s going to be a long night for their back four at this rate.
1 min: Nigeria win an early corner. Wilfred Ndidi gets on the end of the second ball and tries a spectacular overhead kick. But it flies wide.
Updated
First half kick-off!
Nigeria v Tunisia is go. The Super Eagles v the Eagles of Carthage.
Updated
Burkina Faso defeat Gabon! 1-1 AET, 7-6 pens.
After a draining penalty shoot-out, Burkina Faso finally get the job done! And they are the first team to go into the last eight at the Africa Cup of Nations thanks to the winning spot-kick by Ismahila Ouédraogo.
Updated
Abdoul Tapsoba just had a sudden-death penalty to send Burkina Faso through ... and it was saved by Amonome!
Updated
Burkina Faso and Gabon’s penalty shootout has gone into sudden death, after the two teams scored four out of five penalties each.
Teams
Nigeria will play a 4-2-3-1 formation, and Tunisia will play a swashbuckling (in theory) 4-3-3.
Nigeria: Okoye, Aina, Omeruo, Troost-Ekong (capt.), Zaidu, Ndidi, Aribo, Iheanacho, Simon, Chukwueze, Awoniyi. Subs:
Tunisia: Ben Said, Drager, Haddadi, Skhiri, Ifa, Talbi, Slimane, Laidouni, Jaziri, Msakni, Rafia.
This is how we start!!! #SoarSuperEagles #Team9jaStrong #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/ll3Q694OlZ
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) January 23, 2022
Updated
Full-time at the end of extra-time! Burkina Faso 1-1 Gabon. It’s penalties at Limbe Stadium.
Comoros will be forced to start an outfield player in net for their Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 clash against hosts Cameroon on Monday, as their three goalkeepers are all absent.
Excitingly, Burkina Faso and Gabon are currently locked at 1-1 in extra-time in their last-16 encounter. Gabon had Sidney Obissa sent off on 67 minutes, and were already trailing by a goal to nil, but an injury-time own goal by Adama Guira took into beyond 90 minutes.
“The middle continues to rise. In Europe at least, the question about African football is why it has not kicked on the past two decades from the time when, in the space of 12 years between 1990 and 2002, Cameroon and Senegal reached World Cup quarter-finals and Cameroon and Nigeria won Olympic golds. One quarter-final since does not look much like progress.”
Preamble
Nigeria’s form in winning Africa Cup of Nations Group D was exemplary: played three, won three, five goals scored, one conceded. Tunisia’s Covid-19 hit squad, on the other hand, began the tournament with a controversial 1-0 loss against Mali. They were also on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline in their third and final Group F game against Gambia. But a 4-0 thrashing of Mauritania, between those two defeats, proved to be enough for progress into the last 16.
Will it be the Super Eagles, or the Eagles of Carthage, that soar into the last eight? The smart money surely has to be on Nigeria taking flight, but this is knockout football, and Tunisia are certainly no mugs. We’ll see when the teams are revealed to what extent Tunisia have recovered from the Covid cases that ravaged their squad. Team news and more coming up.
Kick-off: 7pm UK.
Updated
