Msakni scorer in his 7th CAN, Iwobi expelled after six minutes… Find our Tops and our Flops of the meeting between Nigeria and Tunisia (0-1).
TOPS
Msakni, to experience
The Tunisian innkeeper responded again this Sunday. For his seventh CAN – he has not missed one since 2010 – the captain scored the sixth goal of his career in the competition. Just after the locker room, he cheated Okoye with a vicious strike from 25 yards. A slight rebound before arriving in the nets surprised the Nigerian goalkeeper, not all white on his intervention. It was also Msakni who was behind Iwobi’s expulsion. Despite himself, he takes the sole of the Leicester player on the ankle. Fortunately, he avoids the injury but can console himself by having caused a red card. Replaced by Khazri at the end of the match, the sole scorer has always been technically fair, showing the example to his partners. Exemplary and man of the match.
Tunisian solidarity
Few observers gave the Eagles of Carthage winners before the meeting. Decimated by the Covid, exhausted after a difficult group stage concluded on Thursday, Jalel Kadri’s players were heroic this Sunday. Very united in a meeting marked by the low number of opportunities, they tirelessly repelled the opposing offensives. Without being sparkling, Hamza Rafia’s teammates were very serious, each time doubling the opposing wingers. And even when they were overwhelmed, Ben Said took out the necessary parades.
Chukwueze, the only one to keep his head above water
The only Nigerian offensive at the level this Sunday evening. If Umar Sadik was interesting after coming on late in the game, it was Samuel Chukwueze who brought the most danger. At the start of the match, a well-felt cross from the outside of the foot fails a few centimeters from Awoniyi’s head. He tries his luck at the end of the game, on a curling shot that misses. In the meantime, it is the only Super Eagle to have successfully crashed through and thrilled the Tunisian defense. But he was far too lonely tonight.
FLOPS
Iwobi, coaching perdant
You can’t do a worse game than Alex Iwobi. Entered in the 69th minute, the Leicester player is sanctioned with a yellow card for a sole on Msakni in the 74th. But the Tunisian writhes in pain and the slow motion is much more violent than the impression left at real speed. Wanting to protect his ball, the attacker let his sole drag on his opponent’s ankle, well above the malleolus. Mr. N’Diaye heads for the VAR and the ax falls. The winger is expelled, 6 short minutes after entering the game to boost his attack. A nightmare game.
The Silent Nigerian Attack
In major competitions, the level between the group stages and the final stages has nothing to do. Nigeria was the representation this Sunday. After having qualified brilliantly during the group stages, the Super Eagles showed a completely different face today. Their attackers have never been able to create differences, like Moses Simon or Kelechi Ihehenacho, both scorers in the pools. The Nigerians have never brought danger to Ben Said’s cages and can harbor regrets for having been so timid.
A very poor game offensively
This Nigeria-Tunisia will probably not go down in history. Evidenced by the long scarcity of strikes in the first period. Between the 10th and the 39th minute, neither of the two teams tried their luck. The two teams remained in a 95-minute observation round, without managing to hurt each other beyond measure. They were satisfied with a sterile possession, often lost when the technical correctness had to make them progress on the ground. If the pitch didn’t help, they both should have done better, especially given the caliber of some of the players there.
