AFCON
AMAZING FACTS – Take Aways In The Nigeria -Cameroon Afcon Round Of 16 Duel –
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The Round of 16 pairings of the Africa Cup of Nations have thrown up intriguing fixtures. Most of the eight matches are potentially explosive.
Nigeria are paired with their familiar opponents, Cameroon in what is potentially an explosive encounter especially if previous encounters are to be considered.
As usual, www.sportsvillagesquare.com takes an insightful look at the match and comes out with the following points of interest.
- Sports Village Square records that this is the second time both are meeting at the Afcon Round of 16 after similar pairing at the Egypt 2019 edition. But overall, it the eighth time both are meeting at the Africa Cup of Nations.
- The stadium where they are meeting on Saturday was the same venue when they first met at Afcon 40 years ago.
- Overall, Saturday’s match will be the 25th clash of both Nigeria and Cameroon. Sports Village Square can confirm that in spite of the intimidating stature of the Indomitable Lions, results have always been in Nigeria’s favour. In 24 matches, Nigeria won 13 times as against four clear victories by Cameroon. The remaining seven were drawn – including the 13 February 2000 Africa Cup final in which penalty kicks were used as tie-breaker.
- The match will be Nigeria’s 101st match in Africa Cup of Nations’ history since the 6-3 loss to Egypt on 24 November 1963 in Kumasi, Ghana.
- The Saturday encounter marks Cameroon’s95th match, even though the country have made two more Afcon appearances than Nigeria’s 20th at the Cote d’Ivoire 2023
- Both Nigeria and Cameroon led their respective Egypt 2019 groups until their last matches. While Nigeria surrendered Group B leadership to Madagascar, Cameroonalso failed to live up to expectations and were held to a goalless draw by lower rated Benin, thus surrendering Group F leadership to rivals, Ghana. At Cote d’Ivoire 2023, both teams laboured to place second in their respective groups.
- The two teams have experienced goal drought. Nigeria scored a goal in each of their three matches. Cameroon had a goal in each of their first two matches before being able to record a late 3-2 win over The Gambia.
- Nigeria’s legendary Muda Lawal scored the last of his 11 goals for Nigeria in a match with Cameroon in the final match of the 1984 Africa Cup of Nations.
- When Cameroon won a friendly encounter in Austria on 4 June 2021 by a single goal, a 32-year jinx was broken as Cameroon last defeated Nigeria within regulation time on 27 August 1989 in Yaounde.
- Erstwhile Super Eagles goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa made his international debut in a World Cup qualifying match with Cameroon in September 2017.
- It is 35years since Cameroon ever beat Nigeria in regulation time of a competitive match. It was a World Cup qualifying match for Italia ’90 – a tie in which Nigeria needed just a draw to advance to the last straight knockout qualifying duel.
- Legendary goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala last featured for Nigeria’s national team in a match with Cameroon on February 2, 1980 at the then Liberty Stadium, Ibadan. The match ended goalless.
- The Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan hosted its first international match when Nigeria beat Cameroon 2-0 on June 10, 1989 in a World Cup qualifying encounter.
- Cameroon’s first three in five titles of the Africa Cup of Nations were achieved beating Nigeria in 1984, 1988 and 2000.
- Cameroon has never beaten Nigeria in any other Africa Cup of Nations’ duel apart from the final match. There are three instances; in 1988, both played 1-1 in group match, in 1992 Nigeria beat Cameroon 2-1 in the classification match while also achieving the same result at the quarterfinals of the 2004 edition.At the 2019 edition, Nigeria beat Cameroon 3-2 at the Round of 16.
- Nigeria’s Josiah Dombraiye was the first scorer at Cameroon’s Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé when the arena was commissioned on February 13, 1972. Nigeria won 2-1, courtesy of the brace by Dombraiye.
- The most pronounced of Nigeria versus Cameroon encounters is the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations’ final match, which ended in penalty shootout that Nigeria controversially lost. The turning point was Victor Ikpeba’s penalty kick, which was thought not to have crossed the goal line. Several television clips showed it was a goal. Even Ikpeba’s reaction also added to the drama as he held his hands on his head in anguish after the kick. If VAR had been in existence then, the final outcome of the 2000 final could have been different.
- Samuel Okwaraji’s only goal for Nigeria was scored against Cameroon on March 17, 1988 in Rabat Morocco. It was also Nigeria’s joint fastest Africa Cup of Nations goal, coming in the second minute, just like that of Segun Odegbami against Algeria in 1980.
Nigeria vs. Cameroon: Head-to-Head
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | |
| Nigeria | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 18 | +18 |
| Cameroon | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 36 | -18 |
- 26 Apr. 1960 (F-Lome) Cameroon 0-0 Nigeria
- 8 Dec.1962 (Nkrumah Cup – Lagos) Nigeria 3-1 Cameroon
- 1 Jan.1963 (Nkrumah- Yaounde) Cameroon 1-2 Nigeria
- 20 July 1966 (F- Fanando Po) Cameroon 1-2 Nigeria
- 1968 (WCq- Lagos) Nigeria 1-1Cameroon
- 22 Dec.1968 (WCq – Yaounde) Cameroon 2-3 Nigeria
- 13 Feb.1972 (F- Yaounde) Cameroon 1-2 Nigeria
- 22 Jan. 1975 (F – Lagos) Nigeria 1-0 Cameroon
- 2 Feb. 1980 (F- Ibadan) Nigeria 0 -0 Cameroon
- 18 Mar.1984 (Afcon – Abidjan) Cameroon 3-1 Nigeria
- 17 Mar. 1988(Afcon – Rabat Cameroon 1-1Nigeria
- 27 Mar.1988 (Afcon – Casablanca) Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria
- 10 June1989 (WCq- Ibadan) Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon
- 1989 (WCq – Yaounde) Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria
- 25 Jan.1992 (Afcon – Dakar) Cameroon 1-2 Nigeria
- 1997 (LG Cup – Tunis) Cameroon 0-1 Nigeria
- 13 .Feb. 2000 (Afcon- Lagos) Nigeria 2-2 Cameroon *(3-4 pso).
- 1 June2003 (LG Cup- Lagos) Nigeria 3-0 Cameroon *aet
- 8 Feb.2004 (Afcon – Monastir) Cameroon 1-2 Nigeria
- 11 Oct. 2015 (F-Vise, Belgium) Cameroon 0-3 Nigeria
- 2017 (WCq – Uyo) Nigeria 4-0 Cameroon
- 4 Sep. 2017 (WCq – Yaounde) Cameroon 1-1 Nigeria
- 4 Jun. 2021 (F- Wiener Neustadt, Austria) Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria
- 8 June 2021 (F- Wiener Neustadt, Austria) Cameroon 0-0 Nigeria
Cote d’Ivoire head coach Emerse Fae has overhauled his backroom team following the Elephants’ Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023, success earlier this year.
Fae, who took over from Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset during the tournament in January, has brought in three new faces as he builds towards qualifying for the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations and 2026 World Cup.
Former Cote d’Ivoire goalkeeper Gerard Gnahouan, 45, joins as goalkeeping coach after working in this role with French Ligue 2 side Sochaux.
Gnahouan, capped 10 times by the Elephants between 2002 and 2011, takes over as goalkeeping coach and will be tasked with getting the best out of first-choice Yahia Fofana.
Moroccan Samir Anba, previously with French club Nice and Morocco’s Under-17s, takes over as fitness coach, while Jeremy Antonio arrives as video analyst after working with Fae at French side Clermont.
“This new composition of the technical staff marks the start of a new era for the Cote d’Ivoire national team, and expectations are high,” said Fae.
Fae kept faith with assistant Guy Demel while former international Alain Gouamene joins as the second assistant coach of the AFCON-winning team.
The 40-year-old led an all-local setup to a surprise African title in March after being promoted from Gasset’s number two following their near exit at the group stage.
The new backroom additions have a huge challenge ahead, with Cote d’Ivoire facing crunch matches in June as they bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Elephants top their qualifying group after beating Gambia and Seychelles in the opening two matches in Group F of the qualifiers under caretaker Gasset.
-CAF
After commanding victories in the first leg matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers, Chad, Liberia, and Eswatini find themselves in advantageous positions as they gear up for the return fixtures scheduled for Tuesday.
As the second leg of the preliminary fixtures approach, all eyes will be on these teams as they vie for their coveted spots in the group phase of the qualifiers, with the hopes of making their mark on the continental stage.
Chad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritius, joining Liberia and Eswatini in the lead after their impressive triumphs earlier last week.
Liberia secured a 2-0 victory against Djibouti, while Eswatini displayed their dominance with a 3-0 win over Somalia.
The second leg promises to be fiercely contested, particularly for Chad, who will face a challenging encounter against Mauritius on the latter’s home turf.
Coach Kevin Nicaise’s players are keen to defend their slender lead and secure their spot in the next phase of the qualifiers but the trainer admits they have an arduous task.
“We are far from perfect, far from being a top team in the world. We are in the construction phase. There are still things to work on and improve,” coach Nicaise said after their first-leg win.
“It is not overnight that we will be a top team in the world, we are aware of that, however we are working hard with the group and the staff to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Liberia will host Djibouti, aiming to build on their first-leg success and seal their progression to the next round.
Eswatini will host Somalia with confidence, seeking to maintain their winning momentum and secure passage to the next stage of the tournament.
South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe will also face off in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter, following their goalless draw in the first leg.
With both teams eager for victory, the match promises to be a thrilling battle for supremacy.
-CAF
Liberia and Eswatini took commanding leads in their respective Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, preliminary round ties after claiming impressive away victories on Wednesday.
Liberia captain Murphy Dorley scored one of two first-half goals as the Lone Stars defeated hosts Djibouti 2-0 in the opening leg in Marrakech.
Mohammed Sangare broke the deadlock from the penalty spot on 23 minutes before Dorley coolly slotted home Sebastian Teclar’s cross 12 minutes later.
Djibouti struggled to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents as the Lone Star side kept them at bay to take two away goals into next week’s second leg in Monrovia.
Eswatini were also celebrating after demolishing Somalia 3-0 in the Moroccoan city of El Jadida to put one foot in the group stage qualifiers.
Striker Sabelo Ndzinisa was the hero, netting twice either side of Felicio Figuareido’s 40th minute opener for the visitors.
Somalia now face an uphill battle to qualify when they travel to the Mbombela Stadium in the South African city of Nelspruit for the return on March 26th.
The opening leg victories give Liberia and Eswatini a huge advantage heading into the second legs as they target a place in the group stage on the road to next year’s finals in Morocco.
Back from the locker room, Somalia still couldn’t play its game.
Worse, Eswatini widened the gap with Ginindza who scored his double of the evening in the 56th minute. 3-0, the score remained unchanged on the scoreboard until the final whistle.
Victory for Eswatini which will still have to perform in the return leg to ensure its qualification for the qualifiers.
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