In the first clash of the Round of 16 at AFCON 2023, Nigeria came from behind to beat a helpless Cameroon 2-0. The Super Eagles have thus progressed beyond the Round of 16, where they lost out in the previous edition. In the quarters, Nigeria will face Angola.
The first warning in this match came from Nigeria. From a corner, the Super Eagles thought they had opened the scoring through Ajayi in the 16th minute. However, after consulting VAR, the referee ruled the goal out for offside. A warning for the Indomitable Lions. Both teams put a lot of intensity into this game but it was Nigeria who finally broke the deadlock. After pressing Omar Gonzalez, Victor Osimhen stole the ball and fed Ademola Lookman on the right. Ondoa was only able to skim the ball, and it was 1-0 to José Peseiro's men. It was an action that was to set the match alight, as on the following play, Tolo got annoyed with Onyeka, and Wooh got involved. The referee calmed the protagonists down. The Super Eagles maintained their one-goal lead at the break.
In the second half, Nigeria managed their lead and even had several chances to increase the score, but without success. Cameroon, on the other hand, had no answer. Worse still, the Indomitable Lions had not managed a single shot on target since the start of the game. Rigobert Song then decided to introduce Vincent Aboubakar in the 78th minute for his first minutes of this competition but nothing came of it. The Cameroonians even conceded a 2nd goal with a double from Lookman (90th). Victor Osimhen's team-mates were the logical candidates for the Round of 16. The sovereign Nigerians thus take the quarter-final and go on to face Angola.The Palancas Negras swept aside Namibia 3-0 earlier.
📹 HIGHLIGHTS: 🇳🇬 2-0 🇨🇲
Lookman helps Nigeria put on a show with his two goals to fly to the quarter-finals! 🎩#NGRCMR | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | @Football2Gether
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 28, 2024
