Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has insisted Nigeria are fully prepared to ensure there is no repeat of their painful defeat to Tunisia as both sides prepare to clash at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Soccernet.ng reports.
Nigeria face Tunisia on Saturday night in Fès in what is shaping up to be a decisive Group C encounter, with both teams arriving on the back of opening-day victories. The Super Eagles edged Tanzania 2-1 in their first match, while Tunisia were more convincing, recording a 3-1 win over Uganda.
Those results have left the two sides level on three points at the top of the group, with Tunisia holding a slight advantage on goal difference. A win for either team will guarantee automatic qualification to the knockout stages of the tournament.
Yet beyond the mathematics, history looms large. Tunisia hold a narrow head-to-head edge over Nigeria, having won seven of their 21 meetings, compared to six victories for the Super Eagles. More significantly, their most recent meeting, at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, still stings deeply in the Nigerian camp.
Nigeria entered that round-of-16 tie as overwhelming favourites, having won all three group matches, including a famous 1-0 victory over Egypt. Tunisia, by contrast, barely scraped through as one of the tournament’s best third-placed teams. Despite that, it was Tunisia who advanced, courtesy of a 1-0 win sealed by Youssef Msakni.
That defeat, compounded by Alex Iwobi’s first-half red card, remains a painful memory, one Ndidi admits is still discussed within the squad.
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Ndidi: “We actually spoke of it”
Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference monitored by Soccernet.ng, Ndidi made it clear that the Super Eagles have not forgotten Cameroon but are determined not to be haunted by it.
“The guys are really prepared, we don’t want to think about what happened (previous clash), we just want to face this one because definitely it’s a new team with good players, good group,” Ndidi said.
“We are talking about it (defeat to Tunisia at 2021 AFCON), we actually spoke of it and hopefully it is not going to happen the second time.”
The former Leicester City midfielder also dismissed suggestions that Nigeria are under pressure to win the tournament following their failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“There’s no pressure on us, no pressure at all.
“We didn’t qualify for the World Cup but we are actually ready for this tournament, it’s just like another opportunity to correct the wrong.
“The guys are ready, the team is ready for this tournament. It was painful that we didn’t qualify for the World Cup and we are ready for this to achieve something.”
Saturday’s match will be played at the Fès Stadium in Fès, Morocco, with kick-off scheduled for 9pm local time.
