At the end of 90 minutes, Nigerian fans at the Felix Houphouet-Bigony Stadium were bouncing from side to side, dancing to rhythmic tunes from the Supporters Club, after Ademola Lookman’s brace sent the Cameroonian team back to Yaounde empty.
After the national anthem ritual, national pride was at stake, with Nigeria firing the first warning after Simi Ajayi’s goal was disallowed by VAR for offside in the 11 minutes after a lengthy check.
Nigeria’s high press and speed caused a lot of problems for the Indomitable Lions, with beautiful combinational play between Victor Osimhen and Lookman in the 36th minute that carved open the defence of Cameroon with ease for Nigeria’s first goal, sending fans in Lagos, Calabar, Maraba, Onitsha, and Kaduna to wild celebration.
It was a pound-for-pound battle in the midfield in the second half, resulting in a lot of interceptions and misplaced passes.
Nigeria put the tie to bed in the 90th minute with a beautiful interchange of passes between Calvin Bassey and Lookman at the edge of the Cameroonian final third, putting the Atalanta man through to goal to blast past the helpless Cameroonian goalkeeper for his brace and Nigerian second.
Rigobert Song’s team had no answers to Jose Peseiro’s tactics, and the compact Super Eagles defence restricted the Cameroonians to shots from outside the 18-yard box.
Cameroon had no shot on target in 90 minutes of football, with the back three of Simi Ajayi, William Troost Ekong, and Calvin Bassey suffocating and frustrating Karl Toko Ekambi and Frank Magri.
The victory means Nigeria will face Angola, who defeated Namibia 3-0.Angola finished at the top of Group D with 7 points.
They recorded wins over Mauritania and Burkina Faso and a draw against Algeria.
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