The Super Eagles of Nigeria and Cameroon will renew their rivalry in the round of 16 fixture at AFCON 2023 in Cote d’Ivoire.
The knockout round match is set for Saturday, January 27 at the Stade Felix Houphouet, Abidjan.
The Super Eagles finished second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea scoring three goals in three games.
Cameroon scored in stoppage time against Gambia(3-2) to finish second in Group C and advance to the AFCON2023 knockout stage.
AFCON History
This will be the eighth AFCON fixture between Nigeria and Cameroon. They first met at the Cote d’Ivoire 1984 final match 40 years ago. Four years later, they met again at the group stage in Maroc ‘88 and again in the final.
Both Nigeria and Cameroon met in the third-place match of Senegal ‘92 and then in the final match in Nigeria/Ghana 2000 in Lagos. They clashed in the quarter-finals of Tunisia in 2004 and last met at the Round of 16 of Egypt in 2019.
In AFCON Head to Head, Nigeria has three wins, the same as Cameroon, and one draw.
Nigeria Cameroon Renew Rivalry: History
The first official meeting for these sides was an international friendly, with the game ending in a barren draw.
Nigeria then tasted identical 3-1 victories in the next two meetings.
One was a tie at the Nkrumah Cup in 1961 and an international friendly in 1962.
This must have been the start of a great rivalry between the two West African Nations.
After emerging second, from a group featuring Ghana, Malawi, and Algeria at the 1984 AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire.
The Green Eagles defeated Egypt in the semi-finals on penalty, but could not withstand the Tyson hit from the indomitable lions of Cameroon.
The Lions ran away with a 3-1 victory and the trophy.
The next time these two sides faced in an AFCON final was four years after 84.
An Emmanuel Kunde spot kick ensured they lifted the trophy and maintained bragging rights for another year.
The Unlucky Prince
Some Nigerians still find it difficult to forgive the “the prince of Monaco” Victor Ikpeba, for his penalty miss against Cameroon in the 2000 AFCON final.
The fact that the squad had the talents of Kanu, Okocha, Finidi, and Sunday Oliseh, made the pain hit the marrow.
The generation redeemed their honour against the Lions in Tunisia, in 2004.