Another one of the favourites for the tournament have been knocked out
Alex Iwobi’s appearance for Nigeria was short-lived on Sunday night after he was sent off just moments after coming on a substitute against Tunisia.
The Super Eagles were 1-0 down at the time after a long-range effort from Youssef Msakni caught out goalkeeper Maduka Okoye to give Tunisia the lead.
Poor goalkeeping gives Tunisia a shock lead against Nigeria #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/baBWbLUqNQ
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 23, 2022
As one of the favourites for the tournament – since current holders Algeria were knocked out at the group stage, Nigeria were largely expected to advance to the quarter-finals with relative ease.
However after finding themselves a goal behind, things soon got worse as Iwobi made their challenge even harder following his dismissal.
The Everton midfielder came on as a replacement for Kelechi Iheanacho as Nigeria went in search of an equaliser, but after just over five minutes on the pitch, was penalised for a late challenge.
Initially, the referee opted to hand out a yellow card, however, replays showed that the 25-year-old’s tackle on Youssef Msakni to be a rash challenge.
Leaving his mark on the Tunisia captain with his studs, VAR then took a look at the tackle to see if the challenge warranted a red card.
A real mountain for Nigeria to climb now pic.twitter.com/iCd65Z1kgk
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 23, 2022
Following a short look, it was deemed that Iwobi’s tackle deserved a straight red, leaving referee Maguette N’Diaye with no option but to give him his marching orders.
Despite the one-man disadvantage, Nigeria to push forward in hopes of getting an equaliser, but were unable to break down the resilient Tunisian defence who advanced through to the last eight in Cameroon, where they will face Burkina Faso.
Related links:
- Comoros facing goalkeeping crisis as 12 players test positive for covid before AFCON clash
- AFCON referee goes viral for bizarre running style
- Aubameyang denies ‘false rumours’ surrounding AFCON party claims
