Nigeria will face Tunisia for a place in the quarterfinal of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations at the Stade Roumde Adjia on Sunday.
The battle of the ‘two Eagles’ is inarguably one of the standout fixtures of the round-of-16.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria comfortably dispatched Egypt, Sudan and Guinea- Bissau with three wins to secure top spot in Group E. This made them the only team to navigate the entire group stage with a 100% record.
Tunisia narrowly sneaked into the round-of-16 as one of the best-ranked third-placed teams. They finished third in Group F, having managed to garner only three points from three matches.
The Carthage Eagles fell to a 1-0 defeat to The Gambia in their final group game. Ablie Jallow scored the winning goal in second-half injury time.
Second-half goals from Sadiq Umar and William Troost-Ekong helped Nigeria secure a routine 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau to collect maximum points from three matches.
Nigeria vs Tunisia Head-to-Head
This will be the 20th meeting between the two sides at international level and they have been evenly matched across previous games played.
They each have six wins apiece while eight matches in the past have ended in a share of the spoils.
Their most recent meeting came in an international friendly in October 2020 when goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Mohamed Drager saw parity restored in a 1-1 draw.
Prior to that. Odion Ighalo’s early goal was enough to give Nigeria a 1-0 victory to secure third spot at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria form guide: W-W-W-D-W
Tunisia form guide: L-W-L-L-W
Nigeria
Chidozie Awaziem is the only outfield Nigerian player yet to get minutes in the competition, having initially faced fitness issues. The Alanyaspor defender has, however, returned to full fitness and could be set to make his tournament debut.
Coach Augustine Eguavon has named a highly-changed squad for the game against Guinea-Bissau with qualification already guaranteed. He is likely to revert to his strongest lineup for this crunch clash.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Tunisia
Goalkeeper Ben Mustapha will be suspended due to his red card against The Gambia. Hamza Mathlouthi is also suspended due to accumulated yellow cards. The Tunisian camp was hit by a COVID outbreak before their final group game against The Gambia. As many as 11 players have been infected and might not be available for the game against Nigeria.
Injuries: None
Doubtful: Wahbi Al Khazri, Naim Sliti, Dylan Bronn, Ghaylen Chaalali, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Ali Maaloul, Mohamed Amine Ben Hmida, Aymen Dahmen, Yoann Touzghar, Issam Jebali
Suspension: Hamza Mathlouthi, Ben Mustapha
Nigeria vs Tunisia Predicted XI
Nigeria Predicted XI (4-3-3): Maduka Okoye (GK); Zaidu Sanusi, William Troost-Ekong, Kenneth Omeruo, Ola Aina; Wilfred Ndidi, Joe Aribo, Kelechi Iheanacho; Moses Simon, Taiwo Awoniyi, Samuel Chukwueze
Tunisia Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Bechir Ben Said (GK); Ali Abdi, Montassar Talbi, Bilel Ifa, Mohamed Drager; Ellyes Skhiri; Aissa Laidouni, Anis Slimane, Hamza Rafia, Saif-Eddine Khaoui; Saifeddine Jaziri
Nigeria vs Tunisia Prediction
Nigeria have been by far the most dominant side in the tournament and have banished any pre-tournament doubts owing to poor form and managerial crisis. Austin Eguavoen has structured the team in his image and the three-time champions have sent a statement of intent to the rest of the competition
