Super Eagles of Nigeria scaled through a resilient
Indomitable Lions of Cameroon to book themselves a place in the quarter-finals
of the 2023 AFCON.
The man of the moment wasn’t the usual suspect, Victor Osimhen of Napoli but the
Atalanta forward, Ademola Lookman.
Nigeria started the 2023 AFCON round of 16 on a high as they
got the match opener in the 12th minute of the highly tense encounter via the
boots of Semi Ajayi but the goal was disallowed for offside after a VAR check.
The decision helped the Indomitable Lions to settle down into
the game and played a very balanced match against the Super Eagles, especially
in the midfield.
However, the Nigerian side looked more promising while
surging forward and created more chances.
The Super Eagles’ efforts paid off in the 36th minute when
Osimhen proved that he is more of a team player than a person seeking personal
glory. He disorganized the defense of the Cameroonians with his body movement
before he passed the ball to Ademola Lookman who slotted it beautifully into
the back of the net.
Victor Osimhen celebrates with Ademola Lookman.
After the match opener, Cameroon continued to push forward
for an equalizer which they didn’t get thanks to the highly organized backline
of the Eagles as the first half ended 1-0 in favor of Nigeria.
In the second half, the Cameroonians saw more of the ball but
they couldn’t penetrate the tight defense of the Super Eagles.
However, the Nigerian team suffered a big blow as coach Jose
Peseiro’s new favorite goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali got injured after colliding with a
Cameroonian player.
The highly criticized Francis Uzoho had to come in to replace
him and suffered no serious threat throughout the game to the joy of Nigerian
fans.
The tension on the Nigerian team subsided when Ademola
Lookman stepped up again and took full advantage of Calvin Bassey’s beautiful
cross into the box to double the Eagles’ lead in the 90th minute.
That goal made the 10 minutes of additional time not a
serious course of concern for both the Nigerian team and the country’s fans
watching in the stadium and across the world as the game ended 2-0 in favor of
the Eagles.
This means that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will face Angola in the 2023 AFCON quarter-finals on
February 2, 2024. As for Cameroon, they will turn their focus to the 2026 World
Cup qualifiers.
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