By the time Youssef Msakni’s shot rolled beyond Maduka Okoye in Garoua in January 2022, Nigeria’s 2021 AFCON journey, a tournament that had started with so much control, so much promise was already collapsing in slow motion.
Nigeria had won all three group games.
They looked balanced, calm, and grown-up.
They had convinced themselves this might finally be the year, since 2013.
And then Tunisia arrived, stripped the whole thing bare, and sent them home.
That night in Cameroon never really left.
Three years on, in Fez, Nigeria finally get the chance to answer it.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will be up against the Carthage Eagles Tunisia, 9 PM WAT on Saturday in the round 2 game of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria won their first game of the 2025 AFCO – a 2-1 win over Tanzania in Fez. Tunisia that night also won 3-1 against Uganda and topped the group into the round 2 game.
So, tonight’s game is a meeting of two teams who have both started well, and for each of them, the urgency is not just to win but to stay ahead of the story of this group.
Beyond the table, Nigeria vs Tunisia always exists in a different emotional space. Their history is layered with tight games, narrow margins and tournament nights that have refused to be simple. Across competitive meetings, neither side has been able to claim lasting dominance. Draws have been frequent. Knockout ties have been tense. Even at AFCON alone, their paths keep crossing in ways that leave marks on both nations. It is the kind of rivalry where form walks in the door and history is already sitting down.
Nigeria will come into the game with confidence from the 2–1 win over Tanzania, and they will look to build on that foundation.
Tunisia’s 3–1 victory over Uganda announced them as a team to be feared once again. They will arrive believing deeply in their system. Tunisia can be a team who can be very compact and frustrating to play against, so Nigeria would have to be on a high level.
This contest will be decided by a lot of physical battles, and a bit of individual brilliance.
Three years ago, Nigeria did not lose because they were inferior. They lost because Tunisia understood the match better. They understood how to slow it, how to shrink it, how to make Nigeria feel the weight of time and consequence.
This Nigeria side believes it has learned that lesson.
When Nigeria and Tunisia meet, nothing is ever routine.
And tonight, with the memory of 2021 still breathing quietly in the background, the stage is set for another chapter that neither side will want to lose.
