Nigeria faces Cameroun in 2nd Round battle

Defending champions Cameroun’s 0-0 draw with the Squirrels of Benin Republic coupled with Ghana’s Black Star’s 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau Tuesday, means the Indomitable Lions of Cameroun will play Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the second round of the 2019 Africa Nations Cup in Egypt.

The clash which is taking place in Alexandria on Saturday July 6, was confirmed after Cameroun finished second in Group F behind Ghana which topped the group.

Nigeria ended up in second place behind Madagascar in Group B which means they gave up the opportunity to play one of the best third placed teams.

Nigeria and Cameroun are age long rivals on the continent and the country has won three of the five AFCON titles after beating Nigeria in the final match. In 1984, the Lions triumphed 3-1, in 1988 it was 1-0 and in 2000, which was hosted in Nigeria, the Indomitable Lions broke Nigerian hearts after clinching the coveted trophy through penalties.

However, when their paths crossed recently,  the Eagles trounced the freshly-crowned African champions 5-1 on aggregate over the course of a few days, with a 4-0 at home victory followed by a 1-1 draw in the Lions’ den.

In the ongoing tournament, Nigeria started with two 1-0 victories over Burundi and Guinea before succumbing to a shock 2-0 defeat to debutants Madagascar.

Meanwhile, Cameroun started brightly with an impressive 2-0 victory against Guinea Bissau, before following up with two 0-0 draws against Ghana and Benin.