AFCON2019: Toiling Cameroon to face a moment of truth against Nigeria

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Nigeria and Cameroon are set to renew their rivalry in the Africa Cup of Nations Round 16 at the Alexandria Stadium on Saturday evening. The two teams have eight trophies between them with Cameroon bragging of five while Nigeria have three.

The next-door neighbours, who both finished second in their group stages will be keen on battling it to secure a slot in the quarter-finals.

Nigeria

Nigeria suffered a humiliating 2-0 defeat at the hands of debutants Madagascar and easily surrendered the top spot in Group B of the AFCON, making their route to the final a bit difficult.

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According to their coach Gernot Rohr, the Super Eagles must learn from the mistakes they made against the debutants before meeting the 5-time champions.

“I’m scared of us committing individual errors and I hope we won’t have individual errors again that will cost us,” Rohr told a news conference. The match against Madagascar was a little deception, but we and the fans have learnt to be humble.

“The loss was a lesson we’ll all learn from. I trust my team. We’ll prove to Nigerian fans that the last game was just a mistake.

“There were changes in the team to play some players and keep them in the rhythm of the competition, but now the best team have to start against Cameroon to do their best and make Nigeria proud.”

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Nigeria’s main problem is in front of the goal where the Super Eagles are really struggling to convert open chances despite seeing more of the balls. It could be a high time for the 3-time champions to make changes before the match time.

Cameroon

Stakes are high for Cameroon who failed to get the much-needed goals in the group stage. This is after they were held to a second consecutive goalless draw by Benin, forcing them to surrender top spot in Group F at the Africa Cup of Nations.

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It was a frustrating moment to the Indomitable Lions as the Squirrels used them to achieve their target of a barren draw while thwarting Cameroonians hope of easier route to the finals as they will have to meet their old foes, Nigeria.

Cameroon, who seems to be strong at their defense are yet to concede a goal in the tournament though they have only netted twice. They will bank on their goalkeeper Andre Onana, who has played a pivotal role in their campaign.

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And their coach Clarence Seedorf believes that Nigeria will provide them with another opportunity of seeing off AFCON favourites as he strongly believes in his side.

“It is not new to us, trying to win. It’s normal for us,” Seedorf told reporters.

“Our team is good, yet Nigeria is also a big team. All we have to do is perform well and see where it leads us.”

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Prediction

Nigeria have won six of their last seven AFCON games with the only exception being Madagascar who recently tainted their intimidating record. Cameroon, on the other hand, are unbeaten in their last 9 AFCON games and this is their joint-longest streak in the tournament. With these statistics, my possible bet would be for both teams to score.

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