By Michael Madyira
Nigeria and Cameroon are set to light up the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament when they face off in a Round of 16 match at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Ivory Coast on Saturday.
The West African giants were paired in this round of the competition after each finished second in their respective groups.
The Super Eagles navigated their way into the last 16 after first drawing 1-1 with Equatorial Guinea before edging hosts Ivory Coast 1-0 and then beating Guinea-Bissau 1-0.
Cameroon confirmed their knockout participation after sharing spoils 1-1 with Guinea and then slumped 3-1 to holders Senegal before recovering to beat Gambia 3-2.
Former Nigeria midfielder Segun Odegbami believes the tournament has become easy for the Super Eagles after being handed the Indomitable Lions.
“I can tell you without blinking that this game against Cameroon will be our easiest game,” Odegbami told Vanguard.
“It is not going to be Cameroon’s usual brutal football. No. It’s going to be a free-flowing game on a typically good pitch. And that’s where our boys will catch them. You can see that the quality has improved with their other matches. The Eagles have settled down. We’ll beat them.”
Nigeria started the tournament amid stern criticism for underperforming but they have picked themselves up to be regarded as likely Afcon champions.
Going into the Cameroon match, the Super Eagles welcomed back midfielder Alhassan Yusuf who missed their last two group games due to injury.
While Nigeria have such encouraging news in their camp, Cameroon are bracing for the return of captain Vincent Aboubakar and Clinton N’Jie who were unavailable for all their three group matches.
The West African giants last met at Afcon in 2019 when Nigeria eliminated Cameroon after a 3-2 victory in the Round of 16 phase.
Meanwhile, Angola and Namibia collided in a Cosafa Derby at Stade de Bouaké de la Paix earlier on Saturday.
Pictured above: Nigeria players celebrate their win against Guinea Bissau.
Image source: CAF
