Ighalo goal gives Nigeria third-place playoff win in Cup of Nations
Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria players celebrate after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
CAIRO (Reuters) - Odion Ighalo's early goal gave Nigeria a 1-0 win over Tunisia in their third-place playoff at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old forward, who is the tournament's top scorer with five goals, was gifted an easy tap-in following a Tunisian defensive mix-up at the Al Salam Stadium.
Jamilu Collins’ cross from the left was poorly parried by goalkeeper Moez Ben Cherifa against the legs of defender Yassine Meriah, who tried to stop it from going over the line before Ighalo pounced to give Nigeria a third-minute lead.
Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Odion Ighalo in action with Tunisia's Anice Badri REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
It proved a costly blunder for Tunisia, who lost Sunday’s semi-final in extra time to Senegal in similar circumstances.
Ben Cherifa attempted to make up for his error with some good saves in the second half, first denying Samuel Chukwueze’s left-footed shot just after the hour mark before saving two efforts from substitute Samuel Kalu in stoppage time.
Nigeria, who dominated the game, have won the bronze medal at eight different Cup of Nations’ tournaments.
Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Ahmed Musa celebrates with his medal and team mates after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Algeria play Senegal in the Cup of Nations final in Cairo on Friday.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Toby Davis)
Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Ahmed Musa with his medal after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Odion Ighalo goes off injured REUTERS/Suhaib SalemSoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Odion Ighalo celebrates scoring their first goal with team mates REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze celebrate after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr celebrates with his medal after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Victor Osimhen celebrates with team mates after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr celebrates after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr celebrates with team mates after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El GhanySoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Odion Ighalo celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Sumaya HishamSoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria's Ahmed Musa collects his medal after winning the Third Place Play Off REUTERS/Suhaib SalemSoccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations 2019 - Third Place Play Off - Tunisia v Nigeria - Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - July 17, 2019 Nigeria fans REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham
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