Nigerian Super Eagles were on Sunday, knocked out of the AFCON 2021 round of 16 by the Tunisian Carthage Eagles after a shocking 1-0 defeat. ayokinews.com reports
Youssef MSakni struck from beyond the box to beat Maduka Okoye in the 46th minute of the second half, giving Tunisia a 1-0 lead.
Maduka Okoye, the youthful Nigerian goalkeeper, was caught off guard by MSakni’s bouncing, dipping shot, and his feeble parry was insufficient to prevent the ball from settling in the corner of the net.
Things got worse for the Super Eagles after substitute Alexander Iwobi, left his studs on Msakni and was booked for leaving his opponent writhing on the ground. However, VAR demanded a second look, and the Super Eagles’ hopes were further harmed by the red card.
Nigeria seemed out of ideas in the face of some heroic defence despite winning all three of their group games and even resting the most of their players for their last encounter.
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Umar Sadiq had the finest chance to add to the cup’s increasing list of late-game dramas, but his attempt rolled across the goal and wide of the far-post.
Tunisia will face Burkina Faso in the quarter-final on Saturday.
The Super Eagles’ failure in the 2021 AFCON represents a significant upset. In the group stages, the Nigerian squad was the only team to score 9-points.
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