The Super Eagles of Nigeria secured their spot in the last 16 of the AFCON after becoming the only team in the tournament this edition to finish the group stage with a 100% win record and were paired to face the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia who qualified as one of the best losers.
Speaking to NFF TV ahead of the round of 16 clash, coach Austin Eguavoen showed respect to the North African side, hinting at a change of tactics whilst also highlighting the fact that the opponents were not exceptional in the first stage.
“Congratulations to us for qualifying. We’ll continue to work hard, same approach, same determination, tactics might differ a little bit and we’re ready. We’ve had a bit of recovery training and today we’ll start working on how to approach the game fully,” he said.
“They (Tunisia) had ups and downs, lost two penalties, lost towards the end of the game in the last match but having qualified for the knockout stage it’s a different ball game now. It’s going to be different but they’re a very good team technically, they’re fast as well which is typical of North African sides but we’ll find a way to play through that and see how we can get the better,” Eguavoen concluded.
The Knockout Stage of the AFCON 2021 begins on Sunday 23rd, January 2022, and Nigeria welcomes Tunisia to Garoua in a tight encounter to produce one of the quarter-final teams.
