AFCON: Ndidi recreates Kanu's celebration as Super Eagles retire calculators

Wilfred Ndidi recreates Nwankwo Kanu's iconic Atlanta 96 celebrations after scoring his first ever goal for the Super Eagles against Tun...

Wilfred Ndidi recreates Nwankwo Kanu's iconic Atlanta 96 celebrations after scoring his first ever goal for the Super Eagles against Tunisia on Saturday at the ongoing 2025 AFCON. (Photo credit: Ganiyu Yusuf)

The Super Eagles of Nigeria made the entire nation proud with a sensational performance over a sustained period in the game against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, but losing steam late on left so much to be desired.

Coach Eric Chelle rang minor changes, especially in the fullback positions, as Bruno Onyemechi came in for Zaidu Sanusi while Frank Onyeka came in for Samuel Chukwueze, which alters the formation a little bit to accommodate an extra body in midfield.

Tunisia didn't know what hit them, despite their pedigree going into the game. Tunisia prosecuted the entire World Cup qualifiers, scoring tonnes of goals without conceding any; this made them a favourite of some sort, considering how horrible it was for Nigeria during the qualifiers.

Nigeria dominated the opening exchanges, creating lots of chances and even seeing a Victor Osimhen effort denied by the offside flag. The Galatasaray man was not to be denied for longer, however, as he headed Nigeria in front with just a minute left on the first-half clock, off a brilliant Ademola Lookman cross.

The second half started the same way the first one ended. Captain Wilfred Ndidi rose the highest to double Nigeria’s lead just five minutes into the second half, and the Turkey-based midfielder rolled back the years with Nwankwo Kanu’s famous Atlanta 96 goal celebrations.

17 minutes later, two became three. Osimhen cut back for Lookman, who danced around before unleashing one which went in off the woodwork to leave the Tunisians for dead. At this point, you could feel a sense of rest among the Nigerian fans.

At that point, the relief was obvious, as for once, the entire nation won’t be thrown into some mathematics class, where they have to hope a team helps them by a certain margin while they get a win to balance the equation; this has always been the roster for Nigeria, but not this time.

Sunderland forward Montasser Talbi pulled one back for the Carthage Eagles in the 74th minute before the centre referee awarded a contentious penalty to the Tunisians with three minutes left on the clock, and Real Betis winger Ali Abdi made no mistake from the spot.

The win handed Nigeria a quarter-final ticket with a game to spare. 

Tunisia, losing a game for the first time in over a year, will now face Tanzania in their final group game to dig out a ticket as well, while either Uganda or Tanzania will also hope to clinch a quarter-final ticket with a win in their last game.

Match Highlights

🎥 HIGHLIGHTS: 🇳🇬 3-2 🇹🇳

Nigeria with a hard-earned win against Tunisia in the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025. pic.twitter.com/hTrfdaKR9X

— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 28, 2025