AFCON 2021: 3 things we learnt from first day of Round of 16 games as Nigeria, Gabon eliminated

Nigeria and Gabon got knocked out of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Sunday after Round of 16 defeats to Tunisia and Burkina Faso. A first-half strike by Youssef Msakni made the difference for the Tunisians, while for Burkina Faso, it was a series of misses by Gabonese penalty shootouts that saved their day.

With attention set to deviate to the next set of Round of 16 encounters, here are lessons we learnt from Sunday's concluded fixtures.

Burkina Faso became the first AFCON 2021 quarter-finalist after winning a thrilling penalty shoot-out with Gabon. Carelessness played a major part in their win, as they could have seen off the game in regular time. However, they let Gabon drag them into another 30 minutes of on-pitch festivities.

Even with a red card, Burkina Faso still failed to see off the 10-man Gabon, letting the game, head into penalties. But after such carelessness with their chances for almost 120 minutes, they got rewarded with luck in the shootouts. 

The Super Eagles failed to see off Tunisia in their do-or-die Round of 16 game in Garoua. A drab first half saw the Carthage Eagles flag down every attacking buildup by the Super Eagles, particularly the ones from the wings.

Despite holding more possession, having more attempts in the game and completing the most passes, as well as key dribbles, Austin Eguavoen's side failed the convert any of that into a goal. The Tunisians who had lesser to do all game were the more clinical side on the day. Little wonder they ended up as the winners.

Tunisia might have defeated the Super Eagles in the Round of 16, but their performance left much to be desired of them. Like their performances in the Group Stage (save for the win over Mauritania), they play like a side who could get hurt should they make the slightest mistake. An example being their switch-off against Gambia in the dying minutes of their final group game.

Luckily, against Nigeria, they were not the ones who made a mistake. Should they go into further games at the AFCON without an approach of an outright desire to win, settling for chances offered to them to capitalize on, might prove an inefficient strategy.