Nigeria have been eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations at the last-16 stage after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on Sunday.
Youssef Msakni scored the decisive goal two minutes into the second-half, while Alex Iwobi was sent off just seven minutes after being substituted on, making it difficult for Nigeria to come back against their Covid-19 stricken opponents.
Immediately after the match, Augustine Eguavoen stepped down from his role as interim coach.
"What a story we have on our hands here!" 👀Tunisia take a SHOCK lead against Nigeria! 😮 pic.twitter.com/vglRatsQJM— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 23, 2022
¡GOL DE TÚNEZ! 🥳 Youssef Msakni abrió el marcador con un potente remate desde fuera del área 🔥📺 Sigue el #TeamNigeria vs. #TeamTunisia en vivo y en exclusiva por beIN SPORTS XTRA Ñ.🔗: https://t.co/fJV1gI8QT9#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | #NGATUN pic.twitter.com/CnpBvIJsJI— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) January 23, 2022
Just minutes after coming on Everton's Alex Iwobi is sent off after the referee upgrades his yellow card to a red one following a VAR Review! 😮 pic.twitter.com/bEpQpU6SMJ— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 23, 2022
¡Roja directa para Iwobi! 🟥Nigeria pierde 0-1 y se queda con 10 jugadores 😲📺 Sigue el #TeamNigeria vs. #TeamTunisia en vivo y en exclusiva por beIN SPORTS XTRA Ñ.🔗: https://t.co/fJV1gI8QT9#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | #NGATUN pic.twitter.com/gGtC7ebJAE— beIN SPORTS Español (@ESbeINSPORTS) January 23, 2022
Tunisia boss expressed his pride in his team for their valiant effort against the Super Eagles.
He told reporters: “As we said before, we had prepared well; we had mastered our skills to counter the Nigerian team. We believed in ourselves.
“We had the desire to win and knew we had to put in a lot of efforts. We tried to win to score a goal and succeeded in doing that.
“We knew Nigeria had fast wingers and we came up with specific tactics and had to put pressure on the wingers.
“We trusted the group despite the Covid-19 cases. We didn’t need players but competitors. We wish Nigeria well but we deserve to win,”
Nigeria boss Eguavoen stepped in to take charge of the team after Gernot Rohr's recent sacking, but has given up his role following his team's shock exit.
“What happens next is that I’m the interim coach and technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)," he said.
“I will go back to my position and allow the NFF (to) make a decision on the way forward."