Tonight Man of the Match Ademola Lookman fired a brace for the Super Eagles to eliminate Cameroon 2-0 to set up an AFCON quarterfinal clash against Angola Friday.
GOALLLL NIGERIA!!!!! LOOKMAN
— Kara (@UTDKara) January 27, 2024
NIGERIA 1:0 CAMEROON #AFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/Y4XTqo1b7v
Angola outscored Namibia 3-0 in the earlier Round of 16 match.
Lookman opened scoring for Nigeria on 36 minutes, when he was set up by Victor Osimhen, whose persistence on the edge of the box put pressure on the Cameroon defender.
Atalanta forward Lookman got his shot under a diving goalkeeper Ondoa.
This was after the Super Eagles earlier effort by Semi Ajayi was chalked off by VAR.
Lookman doubled the Eagles lead when he connected home a cross from the left by Calvin Bassey on the dot of full time.
Cameroon enjoyed more of the ball possession, while Nigeria had three goals on target and the Indomitable Lions none in the first half.
As expected, The Indomitable Lions chased the game after the restart, but Nigeria, with Osimhen in a fighting mood, were always dangerous when they pushed forward and forced the opponents to sit back in their own defence most of the game that they did not record a shot on target.
In the 80th minute, Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali injured his knee when he tried to deal with an aerial ball and he was replaced by Francis Uzoho.
Ola Aina was denied a goal five minutes from full time by a desperate block of a Cameroonian defender right inside the box.
After Lookman grabbed his brace, it was Nigeria who came close again to getting on the scoreboard in additional time, but another piece of stout defending by Cameroon somehow kept them out.
Super Eagles Starting XI (3-4-3) – Stanley Nwabali (Francis Uzoho 80) – Calvin Bassey, William Ekong (Captain), Semi Ajayi – Ola Aina, Zaidu Sanusi (Kenneth Omeruo 80), Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi – Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen (Paul Onuachu 90), Moses Simon (Osayi-Samuel 90)
