Indomitable Lions arrive in Abidjan for clash against Super Eagles
Five-time AFCON winners Cameroon, have arrived in Cote d’Ivoire’s commercial and industrial capital Abidjan, for Saturday’s much-awaited encounter against three-time champions Nigeria.
The team had their last training session in Yamussoukro with a boost as far as injuries are concerned.
The duo of Vincent Aboubakar and Clinton Njie joined the team for group training for the first time since being ruled out of the opening set of games of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
In effect, Nigeria and Cameroon have clashed in 17 competitive matches since their first of such matches in the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah Cup on 8th December 1962, which Nigeria won 3-1. Of those 17 matches, Cameroon has won only 4 – 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 27th August 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 has 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 FIFA 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 FIFA World Cup qualifier and; a 3-2 win in Alexandria in a 2019 AFCON Round of 16 clash.
Both sides finished second in their groups to make it to the knockout stage.
Super Eagles finished second from Group A behind Equatorial Guinea with seven points while Cameroon with four points made it out of Group C ahead of Guinea which also qualified as one of the four best third-placed teams.
