Odion Ighalo’s second minute goal, his fifth of the tournament, handed Nigeria’s Super Eagles the bronze medal in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 1-0 victory over Tunisia in Cairo tonight.

This was the eighth time Nigeria were playing a third and fourth AFCON playoff and they kept their record of winning the bronze medal match on each occasion with a tense win at the Al Salam Stadium.

Ighalo’s goal leaves him in line for the Golden Boot unless either Senegal’s Sadio Mane or Algeria’s Adam Ounas produce something in the final in the Egyptian capital on Friday (July 19).

Nigeria finished in the third place in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament after beating Tunisia 1-0 on Wednesday night in a match staged at Al-Salam Stadium.

Both sides were looking to end the tournament on high following their disappointment in the semi-finals. Ighalo scored the only goal in the 3rd minute following a poor clearance at the back by Tunisia, a goal which put him in the driving seat to win the Golden Boot. The Shanghai Greenland Shenhua striker is currently the top scorer with five goals and will win the top scorer accolade unless Adam Ounas, Sadio Mane or Riyad Mahrez score two goals or more in Friday’s final.

Early goal

Nigeria opened the scoring in the 3rd minute through Odion Ighalo. An awful defending saw Tunisia punished early in the game as Jamilu Collins on the left flank delivered a cross inside the six-yard, Moez Ben Cherifia punched the ball off his defender Yassine Meriah and Ighalo tapped into an empty net. His goal was the fifth of the tournament, making him the top scorer with a shout for the top scorer accolade.

Injury concern

Ighalo’s tournament was over just before half time after picking up an injury. He left the pitch before the half time whistle blew and at the start of the second half he was replaced by Victor Osimhen as the match resumed for the final 45 minutes.

Finals

The finals of the tournament between Algeria and Senegal will be played on Friday 19th at Cairo International Stadium starting from 10:00 PM EAT.