Tunisia 0-1 Nigeria
Nigeria has taken third place in the Africa Cup of Nations tonight, thanks to an early goal from top scorer Odion Ighalo.
In the battle of the Eagles, it was the Super Eagles of Nigeria who dominated the Carthage Eagles, and while in victory they had less possession, Nigeria had more attacking threat and came closest to adding another goal.
Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez was simply too good for Nigeria as they were beaten by Algeria in the semi-final, but Gernot Rohr is going to stay on as Super Eagles head coach. He said that his team was capable of a top-three place and so it proved as Tunisia struggled to make any headway.
Highlights of the game
The first half was by no means a classic, with neither side doing themselves a lot of justice after they had shown promise earlier in the tournament.
They still had plenty to play for, though, particularly Nigeria’s main striker. Odion Ighalo was the tournament top scorer with four goals and he got off to a flyer, scoring in the second minute when he was the first to react after Tunisia goalkeeper Moez Ben Cherifa fumbled a cross.
The shot-stopper wasn’t helped by his defender Yassine Meriah, who got in his way as he tried to collect the ball. It won’t make the last cut of the Africa Cup of Nations 2019 highlights package, but Ighalo won’t mind!
The Carthage Eagles tried to respond, and when Ferjani Sassi collected a pass from Wahbi Khazri, he fired narrowly wide. But they struggled to get close to the Nigeria goal. Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi controlled the middle of the park and the Nigeria defence snuffed out any threat.
Ighalo had been carrying a knock since his early goal and he went off at the break and that seemed to give the Eagles of Carthage a boost.
Having struggled to make an impact in the first 45 minutes, Tunisia should have drawn level a couple of minutes after the break when Khazri released Firas Chaouat and he burst into the box. But with the goal at his mercy, he smashed his shot wide.
Head coach Alain Giresse has tried to get Tunisia playing out from the back but all too often their play was ponderous. Khazri had another shot blocked, and finally, Anice Badri forced a save from Francis Uzoho, though it was comfortable for the Nigeria stopper.
The Super Eagles made Cherifa’s world harder when Ahmed Musa passed to Samuel Chukwueze and he let fly from distance. But the Tunisia keeper flung himself to his right to tip the shot around the post.
He made another good save to deny Samuel Kalu in injury time, but in the end, it was Tunisia’s failings in front of goal that cost them third place.
Key statistics
Tunisia had five shots to Nigeria’s four in the first half, though Nigeria had the only one on target, and the Super Eagles’ well-drilled defence blocked four of the Tunisian efforts.
Possession had been shared at 50 per cent each. By the end of the game the Eagles of Carthage had 58 per cent of the ball, but they still only managed one shot on target to Nigeria’s four.
And that result squares up the head to heads at six each.
What’s next?
Senegal take on Algeria in the final. The Desert Foxes already defeated the Lions of Teranga in the group stages, but they were both likely finalists after Egypt went out of the tournament.
The Africa Cup of Nations 2019 betting odds likely won’t separate these two teams by much, if anything, and there will be a lot of attention on the two big stars of the competition, Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez and Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
That’s going to be a cracker. And then the action keeps on coming right here at SBOBET football, with all the pre-season action from the International Champions Cup, where Manchester United and Inter Milan are set to lock horns at the weekend.
And the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga seasons are only weeks away. Champions League winners Liverpool start the English campaign with a home match against new boys Norwich.
But in the meantime, we’ll be keeping a close eye on all the transfer news as the big teams look to strengthen, so keep it here for the very latest news and updates.
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