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By Johnny Edward
Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, has admitted that Saturday’s (today) round of 16 tie against Cameroon at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Ivory Coast will be a tough encounter, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Eagles will aim to repeat their 2019 AFCON winning feat in Alexandria, Egypt when they notably came out on top edging the Indomitable Lions 3-2 at the same last-16 stage.
Musa who played the entire duration of that thrilling encounter said, “That game was a tough duel and brought out the best in us, especially when we went 1-2 down despite scoring first.
“In the dressing room, we told ourselves that we could not allow that to happen. We played for one another and we were happy to win at the end.
“Of course, we know the match on Saturday will be even tougher.
“The Cameroonians will be determined not to lose again, but we will give our very best and go for a win. We can do it again. Our aspiration is to win the trophy and nothing has changed that,” Musa said in a pre-match conference on Friday.
Nigeria reached the last 16 after scooping seven points, unbeaten in their three matches (a draw against Equatorial Guinea and wins against Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau) while Cameroon began their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Guinea before suffering a 3-1 loss to reigning champions, Senegal. Their final game saw them overcome The Gambia 3-2 in added time to make sure of a place in the knock-out rounds.
The Eagles have had the edge in past encounters the Indomitable Lions.
Both teams have clashed in 17 competitive matches since their first encounter at the Kwame Nkrumah Cup on December 8, 1962, which Nigeria won 3-1.
Of those 17 matches, Cameroon have won only four – three of these in the final matches of the Africa Cup of Nations in 1984, 1988 and 2000. The only other time Cameroon have beaten Nigeria in a competitive match was on August 27, 1989, when Francois Omam Biyick scored the only goal in Yaounde that eliminated Nigeria from the race to the 1990 FIFA World Cup finals in Italy.
Nigeria have won nine of the other 13 matches, including a 2-1 defeat of Cameroon in the bronze medal-match of the 1992 AFCON; a 2-0 triumph in a 1990 World Cup qualifier in Ibadan; a 3-2 win in Yaounde in a 1970 World Cup qualifier; a 2-1 win in Monastir in a 2004 AFCON quarter-final; a 4-0 win in Uyo in a 2018 World Cup qualifier and; a 3-2 win in Alexandria in a 2019 AFCON round of 16 clash.