Nigeria vs Tunisia: Lessons Flying Eagles must learn from past North African encounters

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria are set to take on Tunisia in their AFCON U-20 Group B opener in Egypt tomorrow evening, Soccernet.ng reports.

Aliyu Zubairu's team were drawn into the same group as Morocco, Tunisia and Kenya, and they'll be hoping to garner as many points as possible to qualify for the knockout stages.

The Carthage Eagles have made the semi-finals of the past two AFCON U-20 tournaments, while the Flying Eagles have won the competition a record seven times. Additionally, they're also two-time runners-up of the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

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While the Flying Eagles did not qualify for the AFCON U-20 tournament in 2021, they were third in 2023. Tunisia and Nigeria have met five times previously, with the record Champions claiming three wins and a draw.

In this piece, Soccernet.ng highlights lessons the Flying Eagles can learn from their previous games against the Tunisian opponents.

1. Nigeria have scored in every game against Tunisia

While history favours Zubairu's side, scoring first will be a huge boost for the team if they're to secure three points tomorrow.

On the flip side, Tunisia have conceded at least three goals in each of their last three games in the tournament. Plus, they're winless in their last nine games against West African teams (D6 L3), with their last win coming against Guinea in 1987.

2. The Flying Eagles have to be defensively solid

The rivalry between both sides stretches back to 1981 when Nigeria defeated Tunisia over two legs 5-4 on aggregate.

The next meetings between the teams came in 1985 in the final over two legs. The first with Tunisia as hosts ended 1-1 before Nigeria won the second leg 2-1 for a 3-2 aggregate victory. Their last meeting was in the third-place play-off in 2023 as Nigeria won the game 4-0.

Their history predicts goals pour whenever both sides meet. So while they'd love to attack, they also have to be wary of leaving spaces open at the back.

3. The North African Curse

Nigeria have qualified for the AFCON U-20 tournament 18 times, reaching the semi-final 16 times and have won the tournament seven times, exiting the group stage just two times. However, they've never won the competition whenever it has been hosted on North African soil.

The Flying Eagles have to be wary of this and should try to step up their game to break the jinx. However, Nigeria have won their opening game seven times, only losing twice, so history favours them.