One of Africa’s most storied and remarkable football rivalries makes another stop on Saturday, this time in the Moroccan city of Fès, as Nigeria and Tunisia clash in a top-of-the-table encounter at the 35th Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles edged Tanzania 2-1 in their first match, with Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman finding the net, while Tunisia were more convincing, recording a 3-1 win over Uganda through strikes from Ellyes Skhiri and a brace from Elias Achouri.
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle discussed the effort his team has made in training ahead of the big clash, emphasising the need for concentration against a technical Tunisian side.
“For this game, we had a training session to recover, and we tried to put more intensity in the training session. Tunisia is a great team, and they are playing very well. Let’s go for this game,” Chelle said in Friday’s pre-match press conference.
The Franco-Malian tactician acknowledged errors from the Tanzania match but expressed confidence in his squad’s readiness.
“We analysed the game, and we did some things in the game, bad and good. But the goal was bad for us. The reality was that we scored immediately after the goal, and that was a good reaction. We will work on it, and if there is no mistake, there is no goal, but my players are very ready for this game.”
Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi insisted Nigeria are fully prepared to ensure there is no repeat of their painful defeat to Tunisia, when the Carthage Eagles eliminated them 1-0 in the Round of 16 at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
“It was a painful loss in 2021. It gives us more confidence when we talk about it. We don’t want to think about what happened; we just want to face this one,” Ndidi said.
“Definitely, it is a new team, good players, and a good group. We spoke highly of it because it is not going to happen twice, hopefully.”
The former Leicester City midfielder also dismissed suggestions that Nigeria are under pressure following their failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“There’s no pressure on us, no pressure at all. We didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but we are actually ready for this tournament; it’s just like another opportunity to correct the wrong,” Ndidi stated.
“The guys are ready, the team is ready for this tournament. It was painful that we didn’t qualify for the World Cup, and we are ready for this to achieve something.”
Tunisia defender Moutassar Taibli revealed how his side intends to handle Nigeria’s attacking threats, particularly the triumvirate of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze.
“We know Nigeria’s attackers are high-level players, but with experience and concentration, the result will be positive,” the utility defender said.
There have been a total of 21 matches between both teams dating back 64 years, with each having won six times, and the remaining nine matches drawn, though some eventually went into penalty shootouts.
At the AFCON finals specifically, Nigeria hold a superior head-to-head record, boasting four wins to Tunisia’s two.
