After stumbling in the penultimate hurdle of the Total Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2019, Tunisia and Nigeria are looking for consolation on Wednesday, 17 July 2019 when they face each other at the Cairo based Al Salam Stadium in the third place playoff where the winner goes away with bronze medal.
Tunisia lost to Senegal 0-1 after extra-time, while Nigeria conceded a last minute goal to fall 1-2 to Algeria in the semifinal.
The Carthage Eagles reached the semifinal for the first time since winning the title at home in 2004, but couldn’t take the final step. Tunisia started on a slow note with three draws in the group stage, 1-1 with Angola and Mali and goalless against Mauritania.
In the Round of 16 they needed penalties to oust Ghana after a 1-1 draw. And in the quarterfinals it was all one way traffic to defeat Madagascar 3-0.
But they had to deal with heartbreak in the penultimate round losing to Senegal 1-0 after extra-time. Missing a penalty in the second half, and being declined another by VAR, besides a headed own goal gave them some sour taste to deal with waiting for the bronze medal match.
Meanwhile three time champions Nigeria wished to add a new star on their green jersey, but their campaign was cut short at the semifinal.
The Super Eagles started their campaign defeating Burundi 1-0. They then defeated Guinea with the same result, before succumbing to a 2-0 defeat to debutants Madagascar.
Nigeria then defeated title holders Cameroon 3-2 in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals they defeated South Africa 2-1, but their way was stopped at the semifinal with a 2-1 defeat to Algeria. They will now face Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles looking for a place on the podium.
The match kicks off at 10pm local time.
Afcon head-to-head:
16/03/1978 – Accra (Third place) Nigeria 1-1 Tunisia, The match was abandoned after Tunisia walked off in the 42nd minute with the score tied at 1-1 to protest the officiating. Nigeria were awarded a 2-0 win, and Tunisia were banned from the next tournament
23/01/2000 – Lagos (Group stage) Nigeria 4-2 Tunisia
11/02/2004 – Rades (Semifinal) Tunisia 1-1 Nigeria, (Tunisia win 5-3 on penalties)
04/02/2006 – Port Said (Quarterfinal) Nigeria 1-1 Tunisia, (Nigeria win 6-5 on penalties)
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