Super Eagles player ratings : Okoye inexperienced; Ekong no leadership; Simon caged; Awoniyi poor

The Super Eagles' promising run at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was halted on Sunday evening at the Roumde Adjia stadium in Garoua as Tunisia stole a 1-0 win from a rather disappointing Nigerian side.

Izuchukwu Michael rates the players' performances below :

Goalkeeper

Maduka Okoye : Made one or two saves but could not keep out Youssef Msakni's shot that culminated in the only goal of the game as his defenders failed him. The inexperienced goalkeeper was late to react to the shot. 4/10.

Defenders

Ola Aina : Was at fault for Tunisia's goal as he failed to close down Msakni. He was good going forward but defensively woeful. 6/10.

Zaidu Sanusi : The Porto left back ran down the left channel and was contributing to the attacking phase though defensively he was not at his best. 6/10.

Kenneth Omeruo : Made some vital blocks but was guilty of leaving spaces for the Tunisia forwards to exploit. 5/10.

William Troost-Ekong : The captain made good diagonal balls into the opposition half. Showed no leadership. 5/10.

Midfielders and strikers

Wilfred Ndidi : Broke up play intelligently and was Nigeria's best player before the Tunisians took initiative. He attempted to strike the ball from distance in a desperate bid for an equaliser. 5/10.

Joe Aribo : Made some tackles in midfield but likes his teammates had a lot of ground to cover after the red card shown to Iwobi. Was one of three Super Eagles players that failed to close down Youssef Msakni for the only goal of the game. 5/10.

Kelechi Iheanacho : The Leicester forward was yellow carded in the game. He had some great link ups with his teammates but was substituted in the second half. 5.5/10.

Moses Simon : The Nantes winger was easily Nigeria's best player in the tournament in general but on Sunday evening was very predictable with what he intended to do with the ball. 6/10.

Samuel Chukwueze : The Villarreal winger struggled to make an impact before he was substituted. 4.5/10.

Taiwo Awoniyi : The former Liverpool striker was left to match up with the disciplined Tunisian central defenders. Not his best day for the team. 4/10.

The Substitutes

Alex Iwobi : Sent off barely after he came on. 2/10.

Peter Olayinka : Decent showing on the night but his crosses and backheels were inefficient. 5/10.

Sadiq Umar : The much maligned striker was the brightest of the substitutes as he had some chances to equalise. 5/10.

Ahmed Musa : Not enough time to effect any thing positively for the team in his supposedly last AFCON. N/A

Igho Kingsley