The Super Eagles on Monday departed the city of Garoua after crashing out of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria suffered a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in a Round of 16 tie played on Sunday.
Veteran Youssef Msakni scored two minutes into the second half to give previously unimpressive Tunisia a 1-0 second-round triumph over 10-man Nigeria in Garoua.
Nigerian hopes of leveling were dealt a huge blow midway through the second half when Alex Iwobi, initially yellow-carded for a stamp on Msakni, was sent off after the referee looked at the VAR monitor.
Msakni, playing in his seventh Cup of Nations tournament, dribbled across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling shot that entered the net off the left arm of goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.
Substitute Naim Sliti almost doubled the Tunisian lead with 15 minutes remaining when he fired a shot toward the corner of the net only to be thwarted by a superb two-hand save from Okoye.
Nigeria had a chance to level as time ticked away, but Moses Simon sent a free-kick from just outside the box over the crossbar.
In added time, Nigeria had an even better chance to equalise when substitute Umar Sadiq got behind the defence and fired across goalkeeper Bechir Ben Said only to see his shot trickle wide of the far post.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr Amaju Pinnick, on Sunday, commended the efforts of the Super Eagles despite a 1-0 loss to Tunisia in their Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 match in Garoua.
“We are proud of the efforts of the players. They gave their all and tried very hard to win even when they had numerical disadvantage. It was just not our day.
“I want to thank His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for his love, support, and encouragement to the team while they were in the championship. I also praise the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare for his interest and attention to the progress of the team. Losing at this stage is painful but we take solace in the great spirit with which the team approached its four matches in Cameroon, out of which it won three.
“The focus and attention will now shift to the FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off against Ghana in March. We want to assure Nigerians that we will prepare even harder for those two matches to get the job done.”
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