Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia LIVE! Iwobi red card - AFCON 2022 match stream, latest score and goal updates today

Nigeria vs Tunisia - LIVE!

The Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 kicks off today with a heavyweight clash between Nigeria and Tunisia perhaps the premier tie of the round.

The 2019 semi-finalists go face to face at Roumde Adjia Stadium knowing that Burkina Faso await the winner in next week’s quarter-final.

Nigeria were the only team to qualify from the group stages with a 100 per cent record, after strong wins over Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau. Tunisia, meanwhile, scraped through in Group F as the third-placed team, behind Mali and Gambia.

While the Super Eagles have won the AFCON trophy three times, Tunisia’s only triumph came on home soil in 2004. But Mondher Kebaier’s side are no strangers to big matches having at least reached the last eight in the last three tournaments.

It has been a wild, unpredictable cup so far - and we can expect more of the same as the knockout stages begin.

With kick-off at 7pm in Garoua, follow all the action with Standard Sport’s live blog...

Match highlights

• Kick-off: 7pm GMT | Roumde Adjia Stadium

• How can I watch the match live in the UK?

• GOAL! Msakni from distance for Tunisia

• RED CARD! Iwobi is dismissed minutes after coming on

20:45 , Marc Mayo

90 mins: Five minutes added on...

20:43 , Marc Mayo

88 mins: Aribo off for captain Musa - can he be Nigeria’s saviour?

20:43 , Marc Mayo

87 mins: Are we set for more late drama in this AFCON clash?

Ndidi tries his luck again from far out and drags his effort wide.

20:41 , Marc Mayo

85 mins: Double change for Tunisia with Khazri back from Covid to replace goalscorer Msakni. Jebali is also on for Jaziri.

20:40 , Marc Mayo

84 mins: Hell of a long throw into the Tunisia box which almost goes too far, allowing Ben Said to punch clear.

20:38 , Marc Mayo

82 mins: Simon sets up over a free-kick from 25 yards out, and curls it over the bar. No worries for Ben Said.

20:36 , Marc Mayo

80 mins: They may have the man less but Nigeria are actually finding a bit of space to attack into, with Tunisia getting a bit leggy and maybe even over-committing in attack.

20:35 , Marc Mayo

79 mins: Ben Said with some trademark time wasting - all perfectly legal, of course - as he waits on a misplaced pass into his area before dramatically flopping on the ball.

20:34 , Marc Mayo

77 mins: Chance!

A brilliant sliding tackle from Ifa as he sticks his foot in between Sadiq and Ben Said, after the Tunisia goalkeeper rushed out to deal with a quick ball into space.

20:30 , Marc Mayo

75 mins: Save!

Okoye is equal to a Sliti effort after he cut inside. A save he should be making but good for his confidence after the earlier goal nonetheless.

20:29 , Marc Mayo

74 mins: Simon tries to do too much and is met by a stout tackle outside the box.

That’ll do for Chukwueze, with Sadiq coming off the bench.

20:28 , Marc Mayo

72 mins: Very nice from Aina to burst down the right and cut a pass back for Chukwueze, who just doesn’t seem to know what to do with the half chance and skies a clipped shot across the face of goal.

20:26 , Marc Mayo

70 mins: The game isn’t playing a huge amount differently compared to before the dismissal, although Tunisia look a whole lot more promising on the break.

Here’s the red card:

20:24 , Marc Mayo

68 mins: Sanusi has a pop from outside the box, comfortably wide.

Sliti replaces Rafia for the Eagles of Carthage.

20:23 , Marc Mayo

67 mins: End to end!

Simon is played in on goal and almost levels it up for Nigeria, moments after the red card. A great touch helps him get the shot away but Ben Said is there to deny him.

Tunisia break and Rafia’s cross from a strong position is high and not too mighty.

Red card!

20:20 , Marc Mayo

65 mins: IWOBI IS OFF!

The VAR decision overturns the booking and a red card is the order of the day!

20:20 , Marc Mayo

64 mins: Iwobi, continuing his theme of being in the thick of it, is booked for landing his studs on Msakni’s shin as he controlled the ball. Poor challenge.

And we have a VAR check for a potential red card...

20:19 , Marc Mayo

63 mins: Tunisia enjoying a spell on the ball, which has looked a bit questionable all night given the pace of the Nigeria press - when they can get into it.

In case you missed it, here’s the goal:

20:18 , Marc Mayo

61 mins: Iwobi immediately into the midst of the action with a nice control down the right channel, yet his pass fails to find his man.

The ball works its way to Ndidi, who has a whack from 25 yards and watches it drift high over the bar.

20:15 , Marc Mayo

59 mins: Here we go, Iwobi and Olayinka replace Iheanacho and Awoniyi.

20:13 , Marc Mayo

57 mins: A poor control from Sanusi lets the ball roll out of play from a good position on the left.

With that, Nigeria ready two subs.

20:12 , Marc Mayo

56 mins: That is lovely defending from Skhiri as Iheanacho rushes the box.

The Leicester striker prepares to fire at goal and his opponent races in from behind to put in a vital touch and calmly roll the ball back to Ben Said in goal. He made it look so simple.

20:09 , Marc Mayo

53 mins: That goal came just 63 seconds into the second-half, Augustine Eguavoen will have been utterly furious with that.

And he won’t be too happy with Laidouni after the midfielder picks up a booking for just a couple of nibbles with his studs at Ndidi.

20:07 , Marc Mayo

51 mins: The touches of gamesmanship from the Eagles of Carthage were even evident at 0-0 and Laidouni makes sure to spend a few extra seconds on the ground after winning a free-kick near his area.

20:05 , Marc Mayo

49 mins: Chukwueze throws himself into a cross that lands at the far-post as Nigeria look to get back into the game, once again Tunisia’s defending is very sound.

A big, big test here for the Super Eagles!

20:04 , Marc Mayo

48 mins: Well, he just thought: why not?!

Msakni strode forward and, 25 yards out, wound up for a low, bouncing shot... and Okoye couldn’t handle it!

GOAL! Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia | Msakni, 46'

20:02 , Marc Mayo

46 mins: A shot from distance goes through Okoye!

TUNISIA LEAD!!!!

Second-half begins! Nigeria 0-0 Tunisia

20:00 , Marc Mayo

A pre-half huddle from Tunisia and we’re back underway at Roumde Adjia Stadium!

19:58 , Marc Mayo

The second-half is almost upon us, who can secure their place in the last eight with the breakthrough?

19:56 , Marc Mayo

Burkina Faso await in Saturday evening’s quarter-final for whoever comes out on top in this one - after their nervy win over Gabon.

19:53 , Marc Mayo

The fans in the stadium have been impressive as ever despite the lack of goalmouth action.

These Nigeria devotees even turned out for a pre-game rehearsal this morning in Garoua!

19:49 , Marc Mayo

If it’s all square after 90 minutes, we’ll require extra-time and maybe penalties.

Just saying...

Half-time! Nigeria 0-0 Tunisia

19:45 , Marc Mayo

45 mins: That’s it for the first-half! No stoppage time necessary.

19:45 , Marc Mayo

44 mins: Nigeria in some comfortable possession just inside the Tunisia half as the first-half draws to a close.

19:43 , Marc Mayo

42 mins: The two teams appear to have spent all their goalmouth action tokens in the first 15 minutes.

Simon is next to try and force something but whips a ball in, straight at the goalkeeper with no attacker on the horizon.

19:39 , Marc Mayo

39 mins: A move forward for Tunisia ends with Rafia taking aim from a slightly uncomfortable position, as he effectively ran away from goal.

He wraps his foot around the ball well yet cannot curl it back in enough and Okoye watches it sail wide.

19:36 , Marc Mayo

36 mins: Tricky feet from Simon down the left wing but Drager and Rafia double up on the Nantes forward and a goal-kick is their reward.

A sturdy, professional high-five between the Tunisia players as celebration for their efforts. Nice.

19:33 , Marc Mayo

33 mins: Sanusi throws a left leg into a challenge that misses the ball as Rafia turned him, it’s both a foul to Tunisia and a bit of discomfort for the Nigeria man as his studs got stuck in the turf of landing.

He’s okay to continue, though.

19:31 , Marc Mayo

31 mins: There’s Troost-Ekong showing off his own slide tackle to end a Tunisia move forward.

If anything, the underdogs are growing into this game even further.

19:29 , Marc Mayo

29 mins: Almost half an hour in and no shot on target to speak of for Nigeria...

19:28 , Marc Mayo

27 mins: Aina tries to take matters into his own hands and bombs down the right flank with serious speed.

And there is the perfectly-executed tackle from Laidouni to shut him down. Nicely done.

19:26 , Marc Mayo

25 mins: Every time Nigeria get around 25 yards from the goal, a Tunisia foot lands on the ball.

Impressive stuff so far from the Eagles of Carthage - how long can they keep it up?

19:23 , Marc Mayo

22 mins: Nice play from Iheanacho to control the bouncing ball in the centre of the park but a nice sliding challenge prevents his through ball from releasing a teammate.

Those sort of quick, direct moves into space look like the Super Eagles’ best avenue at the moment.

19:20 , Marc Mayo

19 mins: Tunisia hold firm after a low cross from Aina.

Iheanacho commits a foul as they look to break and that’s the first yellow card of the night. The elbow across the face of Msakni was pretty clear.

19:19 , Marc Mayo

18 mins: Some steady Nigeria possession around the halfway line calms things down for both teams.

Tunisia, who it’s worth noting are very much still Covid-affected, are watching and waiting for their moment to dive in.

19:16 , Marc Mayo

15 mins: Aribo and Sanusi attempt a link-up down the left but the Rangers midfielder’s pass lacks accuracy.

However, the Super Eagles can continue to build with Tunisia finding it hard to break out right now.

19:14 , Marc Mayo

13 mins: Another corner, another goalmouth scramble!

Whipped into the near-post, Tunisia fail to clear and Aribo is in there before the ball is put out of play.

It came off an arm but VAR is satisfied that no penalty is needed - and fair enough with the defender’s arm in a natural position as it struck him from a yard away.

19:12 , Marc Mayo

11 mins: Now it’s Nigeria’s turn to impress with a late tackle diverting an effort wide for a corner, which creates some chaos in the Tunisia box before the ball is scrambled clear.

Pretty breathless stuff...

19:10 , Marc Mayo

9 mins: CHANCE FOR TUNISIA!

That could have been a huge breakthrough!

The ball reaches Talbi at the far-post and his placed effort is cleared off the line.

19:07 , Marc Mayo

6 mins: A first sign of Tunisia in attack but Nigeria win the ball and look to break quickly - a move which is only ended by some last-ditch tackles.

Even the referee struggled to keep up with the pace of that move.

19:04 , Marc Mayo

3 mins: Largely all Nigeria so far with plenty of intent in their play.

19:02 , Marc Mayo

1 min: Straight into the attack are Nigeria, a corner lofted into the box before Ndidi tries his luck with an overhead kick that flies off target.

Kick-off!

19:00 , Marc Mayo

Here we go!

18:58 , Marc Mayo

Nigeria are being backed for victory by Emmanuel Adebayor.

The ex-Togo striker, who enjoyed a club career with Arsenal, Tottenham and Real Madrid, told fans pre-game: “Originally, my parents are from Nigeria, and I am a Nigerian, so you guys have to win for me.

“If you don’t want to win for yourself, it is your problem, but win for me. Super Eagles, we need to celebrate, we need to party, we need to dance.”

18:57 , Marc Mayo

El Hadji Diouf also believes Tunisia are capable of both the amazing and the awful.

“I have always said that I consider the Tunisian team to be Italy of the African continent,” ex-Senegal star Diouf said to Mosaique FM.

“They can come to the stadium and play a good match. They can get to the stadium and sleep on the field.”

Burkina Faso are through!

18:54 , Marc Mayo

We have a result! It’s penalty shootout glory for Burkina Faso!

They will face the winner of Nigeria versus Tunisia...

Still going in Limbe...

18:53 , Marc Mayo

Twice now we have seen Gabon miss immediately followed by a Burkina Faso miss! It’s 6-6...

18:50 , Marc Mayo

Wilfred Ndidi has outlined the difference between life under Augustine Eguavoen and Gernot Rohr in the Nigeria squad.

Rohr was sacked in December and Leicester midfielder Ndidi said this week: “It is the same team but different philosophy.

“And it’s just the fact that our current manager just made us understand and made everything simple, basic.

“And he just helps us believe in ourselves and also gives us the push actually to express ourselves and the freedom also to express ourselves.”

Managers in profile

18:46 , Marc Mayo

Another manager who has largely plied his trade on home soil, Augustine Eguavoen is out to deliver a fourth AFCON trophy to Nigeria.

Having enjoyed a long career in Belgium as a striker, the 56-year-old took up management in his home country after retiring in 2000.

An initial spell with the Super Eagles fives years later led to a third-placed finish in the 2006 tournament before he returned in December as interim following Gernot Rohr’s exit.

18:43 , Marc Mayo

Nothing can separate Gabon and Burkina Faso after the first three penalties for each team - it’s 3-3 in Limbe.

Managers in profile

18:40 , Marc Mayo

Mondher Kebaier is a stalwart of Tunisian football who has been in charge of the national team since 2019.

The former defender, 51, played for CA Bizertin before stepping into the dugout and working with the likes of AS Marsa and Etoile du Sahel.

However, with his contract due up this year and big expectations from fans, can he deliver a vital victory today?

18:37 , Marc Mayo

Former Nigeria international Daniel Amokachi came up with a curious analogy to describe the Super Eagles’ opponents ahead of the game…

“We are soaring to the finals, but one day at a time,” he stated. “We know the game will be tricky.

“Tunisia is like the British weather, today they are s*****, the next second, they are flying. So we have to win it.”

18:30 , Marc Mayo

Burkina Faso and Gabon are heading for penalties...

18:26 , Marc Mayo

Unlike their opponents, Tunisia have been consistent qualifiers for the Cup of Nations but have a poor record at this stage.

Since winning the tournament for the only time in 2004, they have lost in the first knockout round five times.

That includes a 6-5 defeat on penalties in the 2006 quarter-finals - although they did down Nigeria en route to their trophy triumph two years earlier.

18:21 , Marc Mayo

Nigeria have a bit of an on/off relationship with the Africa Cup of Nations.

Finishing third last time out followed two tournaments which they failed to qualify for - having won the cup in 2013.

They also failed to qualify for the 2012 AFCON after a string of third-placed finishes between 2002 and 20, with four semi-final defeats in five tournaments.

The Super Eagles sample the pre-game atmosphere

18:17 , Marc Mayo

18:14 , Marc Mayo

Two changes at the back for Tunisia with Youssef Msakni coming in up top as part of their 4-3-3 system.

Nigeria rested a number of stars for their final group game so this side is the same as the one that took on Sudan in their second game.

High spirits on the Nigeria bus!

18:11 , Marc Mayo

Tunisia’s starting line-up...

18:00 , Marc Mayo

Tunisia XI: Ben Said; Haddadi, Ifa, Talbi, Drager; Laidouni, Skhiri, Ben Slimane; Msakni, Jaziri, Rafia.

How Nigeria line up...

17:59 , Marc Mayo

Nigeria XI: Okoye; Aina, Troost-Ekong, Omeruo, Sanusi; Ndidi, Aribo; Chukwueze, Simon, Iheanacho; Awoniyi.

17:57 , Marc Mayo

Team news coming up!

17:51 , Marc Mayo

They’re going into extra-time in Limbe after an injury-time own goal from Adama Guira earns Gabon a leveller!

Burkina Faso vs Gabon update

17:42 , Marc Mayo

It’s still 1-0 in Limbe with Burkina Faso looking good for a spot in the quarter-finals.

With five minutes to go, Bertrand Traore’s goal is the difference and Gabon are down to ten men after Sidney Obissa’s red card.

17:37 , Marc Mayo

After these two teams lost in the 2019 AFCON semi-finals, they faced off in the third-place play-off in Cairo...

On that occasion, an early Odion Ighalo goal was enough to give Nigeria the victory.

Head-to-head record

17:32 , Marc Mayo

The Super Eagles are unbeaten in their last six meetings with the Eagles of Carthage.

Nigeria wins: 6

Draws: 8

Tunisia wins: 6

Standard Sport score prediction

17:26 , Marc Mayo

Frankly, it’s hard to look past the Super Eagles following their performances in the group stage.

Nigeria to win 2-0.

Over in Limbe...

17:15 , Marc Mayo

Burkina Faso lead Gabon early in the second-half of the other last-16 tie tonight.

The winner will face the victor of our game in Garoua, with Bertrand Traore setting his side on their way with their only shot on target so far!

17:09 , Marc Mayo

Tunisia predicted XI: Said; Mathlouthi, Ifa, Talbi, Abdi; Slimane, Skhiri, Laidouni; Mejbri, Rafia, Jaziri.

17:04 , Marc Mayo

Nigeria predicted XI: Okoye; Aina, Omeruo, Ekong, Zaidu; Ndidi, Aribo; Iheanacho, Simon, Chukwueze; Awoniyi.

16:59 , Marc Mayo

Tunisia were ravaged by Covid cases before their final group game against Gambia, with seven players including captain Wahbi Khazri missing out.

The upcoming team news will largely depend on how many can return for the North Africans.

Reserve keeper Farouk Ben Mustapha is suspended after his red card during a fracas in their last game.

Early team news

16:55 , Marc Mayo

Nigeria made eight changes in their final group game against Sudan and coach Augustine Eguavoen is set to revert back to the formula that gave them such a good start to the tournament.

They have no fresh reported injury issues in their squad.

How to watch

16:47 , Marc Mayo

TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Mix.

Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers will be able to watch the game through the Sky Go App.

Good evening!

16:47 , Marc Mayo

Welcome to Standard Sport’s coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations last-16 tie between Nigeria and Tunisia.

It promises to be a big night in Garoua, so strap yourself in as we await the team news...