The Super Eagles, who were tipped as favourites for the competition by renounced sports analysts and former players such Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan, John Painstil and others, were stunned in front of their own supporters in the neighbouring Cameroonian city.
The Carthage Eagles of Tunisia upset the 10-man Super Eagles squad of Nigeria to reach the quarter-final where they will face Burkina Faso.
The result means the Nigerians ended just one step ahead of Ghana that finished their campaign at the group stage of the competition. And because of that the Ghanaian counterpart expressed optimism that they will win the upcoming World Cup playoff.
Youssef Msakni of Tunisia beats Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye with a long-range effort two minutes into the second half to end the Super Eagles hopes of winning the title.
Nigeria’s task was made harder when Alex Iwobi was sent off following a video assistant referee review. The West Africans were the only side to win all three group games in Cameroon, but were largely subdued against a side hit by Covid-19.
Nigeria forward Umar Sadiq fired across goal and wide in injury time after Moses Simon had earlier had an effort blocked by Carthage Eagles keeper Bechir Ben Said.
Tunisia, Nations Cup winners in 2004, will face Burkina Faso in the last eight on Saturday, 29 January.
However, Ghana’s captain Andre Dede Ayew is likely to be out of the game between Ghana and Nigeria, sports analysts projected ahead of the game. This is likely to have a toll on the Black Stars’ chances of winning the game if proper line-up is not enforced.
Content created and supplied by: Discoverers_Gh (via Opera
News )