The Super Eagles of Nigeria scored once in each half to defeat Cameroon 2-0 in their AFCON round of 16 clash at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium on Saturday night.
Ademola Lookman delivered the killer blows as Nigeria overcame Cameroon’s physical approach to send the Indomitable Lions home as Jose Peseiro’s side moved into the last eight.
Cameroon has not defeated Nigeria at AFCON when the fixture is not in the final and the Super Eagles continued the tradition in Abidjan, with Osimhen in bullish mode. It is also the third consecutive win for Nigeria against their eternal rivals.
Both sides huffed and puffed in a tense opening period and it was Nigeria who had the ball in the net in the second minute, Semi Ajayi tapping in a rebound but the defender was ruled offside by VAR.
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Nigeria would eventually take the lead on 27 minutes when Osimhne disposed a Cameroonian defender and squared for Lookman to convert under the body of goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa for 1-0 to Nigeria.
Things got heated after the goal with player confrontations, while Osimhen was denied the chance to run onto a through ball by Ondoa as Nigeria went into the interval with the one-goal lead.
Cameroon’s physical approached went up another notch in the second period, with goalkeeper Nwabali falling victim of a twisted knee from an onrushing Cameroonian player leading to his substitution for Francis Uzoho on 79 minutes.
Nigeria however sealed the win when Calvin Bassey crossed for Lookman to find the far post, sending the team and fans into celebration mode.
Nigeria will face Angola in the quarter-final on Friday, February 2.
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