Nigeria conceded a freakish goal in the 47th minutes before Iwobi was sent off in the 64th minute, as Tunisia upset the Super Eagles in the round of 16
By Kehinde Okeowo
Tunisia booked their quarter-finals ticket after narrowly beating Nigeria 1-0 in the second round of 16 of African Nations Cup (AFCON) played in Garoua, Cameroon
Nigeria were fancied to go deep in the competition after cruising to victory under interim coach Augustine Eguavoen against Egypt, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau.
Meanwhile, Tunisia were without coach Mondher Kebaier and a host of players after positive tests for coronavirus, while influential captain Wahbi Khazri was only fit enough to take his place among the substitutes.
The Super Eagles shaded ball possession in the first half, but neither of the two sides could break the deadlock before the break, as there was no shot on target.
It was however the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia who opened the scoring after Youssef Msakni scored a freakish goal from a long-range effort in the 47th minute.
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It went from bad to worse for Nigeria in the 64th minute when substitute Alex Iwobi was given a straight red card shortly after coming on by the referee.
Almeria forward Sadiq Umar missed a glorious chance to equalise for Nigeria in the dying minutes of the game but Tunisia held on to win the encounter.
Tunisia will now meet Burkina Faso who defeated Gabon on penalty earlier today in the quarter-finals. Nigeria who won all their group games are now eliminated and will have to regroup to win the world cup ticket against Ghana.