The Super Eagles of Nigeria secured their place in the tournament’s knockout stage with a dramatic 3-2 win over Tunisia, despite a late scare.
Nigeria dominated for most of the match in Fez, building a commanding 3-0 lead through Victor Osimhen’s header, a Wilfred Ndidi goal, and Ademola Lookman’s finish.
However, Tunisia mounted a fierce comeback in the final 20 minutes. Montassar Talbi scored from a free-kick, and Ali Abdi converted a late penalty, setting up a tense finale in front of a largely Tunisian crowd.
Nigeria managed to hold on through seven minutes of stoppage time to claim the victory and top spot in Group C.
The result was particularly striking given Tunisia’s recent defensive record, having completed World Cup qualification without conceding a goal. Nigeria, conversely, had failed to qualify for that tournament.
“I was going a little bit crazy about what was happening in those final 15 minutes,” said Nigeria’s coach. “But to score three goals against this team is a great achievement for us. We controlled the game for 70 minutes.”
He acknowledged the comeback provided a lesson, stating, “There’s positives in Tunisia’s comeback. It shows there is still something for us to work on and it will keep us motivated.”
In the final group matches, Nigeria will face Uganda, while Tunisia will seek to bounce back against Tanzania.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
