FILE PHOTO: Nigeria in action against Cameroon during the Afcon clash, the Super Eagles advance into the last 8 of the tournament. PICTURE: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images
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0 JOHANNESBURG: Lookman’s second goal in the 90th minute sealed Cameroon’s fate by ending their journey in the last 16.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles soared into the quarter-finals of the 34th TotalEnergies African Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the expense of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, courtesy of Ademola Lookman‘s brace on Saturday at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny Boigny, in Abidjan.
The highly anticipated match mirrored a 1984 final, won by Cameroon, thereby winning their first AFCON title. Interestingly, the match was played in the same venue.
Jose Peseiro‘s Nigeria, who guarded against history repeating itself 40 years later, began the match with a great sense of urgency than did Rigobert Song’s Cameroon.
Their energy and efforts nearly paid off in the 9th minute when Semi Ajayi put the ball at the back of the net. However, following a prolonged video assistant referee (VAR) check he was ruled to have been offside This of course gave the Lions a huge sigh of relief.
Nigeria yet again put the ball at the back of the net after the half hour mark when Napoli’s forward Victor Osimhen (who is one of the seven superstars expected to set the tournament alight) laid off the ball to his fellow Italian Serie A player, Atalanta‘s Lookman, who scored the opener in the 36th minute, thus giving Nigeria a well-deserved lead against the pedestrian Cameroon heading to the half time break.
Lookman’s second goal in the 90th minute sealed Cameroon’s fate by ending their journey in the last 16.
Although Cameroon had brought in Vincent Aboubaker in the second half, his return from an injury could not give the Lions much-needed teeth upfront, as they finished the match without a shot on target from six attempts at goals.
Having punched their ticket to the quarter-finals, Nigeria will tussle for a place in the semi-finals with Angola.
Meanwhile, Egyptians, who were without their Liverpool FC talisman Mohamed Salah due to an injury, also reached the end of their journey in the last 16 following an 8-7 loss in the penalty shootout against Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The match had ended on a 1-1 stalemate, with both goals having been scored in the first half.
The Congolese added another tournament’s major upset, as Egypt’s hopes of winning their first title since 2010 was crushed. Following his injury, Salah returned to his club for rehabilitation.
Liverpool FC and Egypt had agreed that he would return to Ivory Coast if Pharaohs made it to the finals.
With Nigeria as the remaining African giants, the question begs itself as to whether they are poised to with their fourth AFCON and close in on Egypt, who are record holders with seven titles. It remains to be seen.
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