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The Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia are set to meet in a pivotal Group C Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) clash, at the Complexe Sportif de Fès in Morocco on Saturday.
Both teams begin the match with three points from their first outing at the AFCON, after Nigeria edged Tanzania 2-1 and Tunisia defeated Uganda 3-1.
With knockout-stage qualification on the line, the encounter promises intensity as both sides look to consolidate their winning starts. The match kicks off by 9pm (WAT).
Nigeria and Tunisia have a long-standing rivalry, having met 21 times in all competitions. Of those encounters, Nigeria has claimed five (5) victories, Tunisia six (6), while 10 matches ended in draws.
In AFCON finals, Nigeria holds a slight edge with three wins to Tunisia’s one, and two matches were decided on penalties. Their last meeting came in the 2021 round of 16, when Tunisia edged Nigeria 1-0 thanks to a Youssef Msakni strike.
Tunisia have enjoyed recent success in second-group stage matches, winning three and drawing two of their last five, while Ellyes Skhiri marked a milestone by scoring Tunisia’s 100th goal in AFCON history last time out.
“Tunisia are a big team with a strong playing identity and a solid World Cup qualifying campaign behind them,” said Nigeria head coach, Eric Chelle. “They play good football and started this tournament very well.”
“But we have a good team too, and we are improving with every match. In my mind, we may either let Tunisia have the ball and play directly when we recover it, or continue with our philosophy.”
There is no pressure on us — this tournament is an opportunity to correct what went wrong before and continue building our identity,” he added.
- Read more: AFCON Match Preview: Nigeria Vs Tunisia
Tunisia, meanwhile, comes into the match with equal confidence. Known for their tactical rigidity and technical midfield play, they will look to exploit the spaces left behind by Nigeria’s marauding full-backs.
“Yes, in the last game there was no real expression. When we play with only organised offense and defense, it decreases the performance of some players,” said Tunisia head coach, Sami Trabelsi.
“Nigeria are strong offensively and defensively. All players will be involved, not only defenders. We focus only on the field; social media or past results will not affect us.”
“Hazem is fit and doing better in training. There is no national team without weak points, and we have studied Nigeria’s. To go far, we must beat big teams,” he added.
Nigeria enters Saturday’s clash unbeaten in their last seven AFCON group matches and have found the net in 13 of their last 14 tournament games, highlighting their attacking consistency.
Tunisia, meanwhile, are building momentum and confidence after a strong start in Morocco 2025. Both sides will be keen to assert themselves in this high-stakes Group C encounter, with victory likely to bring them closer to securing a place in the knockout rounds
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