How Nigeria set-up battle of the Eagles clash with Tunisia in AFCON Round of 16

The Carthage Eagles and the Super Eagles will lock horns in the first knockout round of the continental championship to determine who proceeds to the quarterfinals

Nigeria will battle Tunisia in a Round of 16 tie of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on January 23, 2021.

To set up the clash between the former champions, the Super Eagles finished top of Group D ahead of Egypt while the Carthage Eagles ended in third place behind Mali and Gambia.

The Super Eagles are three-time champions of the tournament, with the second of the honours secured when Tunisia hosted the event in 1994. The Carthage Eagles have only won Africa’s biggest football festival once and it arrived on home soil in 2004.

Ranked 30th on the FIFA world ranking, the Tunisians have a slight edge over the West Africans who are six places below on the global standing.

But the Super Eagles will be the favourites by the time the contest kicks off, with the Austin Eguavoen led side the only team in Cameroon who emerged out of the group stage with a hundred percent win record.

The Carthage Eagles had a below-par group outing, though, winning one ( 4-0 vs Mauritania), and losing the other two (1-0 vs Mali, and 1-0 vs Gambia) to qualifyy with three points. 

The last time the two Eagles met at the Afcon was two years ago in Egypt, with the Super Eagles carrying the day.

Odion Ighalo’s third minute strike inside the WE Al-Ahly Stadium in Cairo at the third-place match was enough to see Nigeria claim the bronze medal.