The age-old rivalry between Nigeria and Cameroon will be rekindled today when the Super Eagles of Nigeria take on the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in the Round of 16 of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations holding in Egypt.
The match between the two continental football giants will be broadcast live at 5pm on SuperSport 7 and 10 on all DStv packages as well as SuperSport Select 2 and 4 on all GOtv packages.
The Super Eagles qualified for the knockout phase of 2019 AFCON after securing 1-0 victories against Burundi and Guinea respectively. They, however, lost the chance to finish as Group B winners after slipping up 0-2 to Madagascar in the final group game.
Cameroon, on the other hand, began their AFCON campaign with a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau and secured respective goalless draws against Ghana and Benin Republic to finish second in Group F and advance to the knockout phase.
Cameroon, the defending champions, and Nigeria, winners in 2013, have a history of epic clashes. The Indomitable Lions famously defeated Nigeria in the 1984, 1988 and 2000 finals to record three of the five AFCON victories. They have met 22 times, with Nigeria winning on eleven occasions and Cameroon winning four times.
While both teams are yet to light up the tournament, they have some of the best players on the continent.
The Super Eagles frontline of Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa and Alex Iwobi has, so far, been underwhelming, but there is no doubt that the trio possess the means to make life uncomfortable for the Cameroonian backline.
Super Eagles’ coach, Gernot Rohr can also rely on the experience of skipper John Mikel Obi as well the “Oyinbo Wall” duo of William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun to provide stability in midfield and defence respectively.
The defending champions will rely on Christian Bassogog, 2017 AFCON player of the tournament; Karl Toko, and Clinton Njie in the crucial encounter billed for the Alexandria Stadium. Coach Clarence Seedorf will also rely on the defence nous of tough-tackling Michael Ngadeu and the reliability of youthful goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The Round of 16 matches began yesterday with Morocco playing the Republic of Benin, while Uganda faced Senegal.
READ: 10-man Benin beat Morocco to reach last eight
Saturday’s other fixture aside Nigeria vs Cameroon is between hosts, Egypt, and South Africa (showing at 8pm on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4).
Madagascar and DR Congo will go head-to-head on Sunday (showing at 5pm on SuperSport 7 & 10 and SuperSport Select 2 & 4), while Algeria tackle Guinea in the other fixture of the day (showing at 8pm on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4).
The second-round fixtures will be completed on Monday, July 8, when Mali face Cote d’ Ivoire in a West African derby (showing at 5pm on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4) and Ghana square up against Tunisia (showing at 8pm on SuperSport 7 & 10 and SuperSport Select 2 & 4).
All the matches of tournament are available to DStv subscribers on Premium, Compact Plus, Compact and Family packages, while selected matches will be available to DStv Access subscribers.
On GOtv, the matches are available to subscribers on GOtv Max and GOtv Plus packages.
