Nigeria 2 Cameroon 0: Lookman at the double as Super Eagles advance to 2023 AFCON quarterfinals

The Super Eagles defeated Cameroon 2-0 in the round of 16  of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday night  to book their place in the quarterfinal of the tournament.

Nigeria's first attempt of the game was in the 4th minute when Victor Osimhen headed the ball comfortably into the hands of Fabrice Ondoa from Ola Aina's throw.

Semi Ajayi thought he had given Nigeria the lead when he fired a rebound shot inside the right post but the goal was ruled out by the central referee Redouane Jiyed after due consultation with the VAR.

Cameroon's first shot on target was in the 23rd minute with Frank Magri's shot being saved easily by Stanley Nwabali.

Nigeria finally took the lead in the 36th minute when Osimhen took the ball off Oumar Gonzalez, he then passed the ball to Ademola Lookman whose shot was too powerful for the goalkeeper to deal with.

Cameroon were presented with a chance to create an opportunity to find the equalizer right before the end of the first half from a free kick but it was well-defended by the Nigerian defense.

Ten minutes into the second half the Super Eagles had a penalty waived after Osimhen was fouled by Ondoa as the former was deemed to have been offside before the incident.

Nigeria suffered a big blow in the 80th minute when Nwabali had to come off due to injury having collided with Georges-Kévin N'Koudou.

Aina was presented with a good chance to double the lead in the 84th minute but he couldn't direct his attempt at goal.

Three minutes Alex Iwobi will also imitate the former Chelsea defender when he missed a glorious chance having been put on goal by Lookman.

It would be the Atalanta man who will double the lead with a  good finish at the dot of normal regulation time after a quick one-two with Calvin Bassey.

Another golden opportunity came the way of the Super Eagles in the seventh minute of the additional time when Aina put a cross into a dangerous area but the ball was cleared away by Jean-Charles Castelletto and that would be the final chance of the game.

The Super Eagles will now face Angola who had earlier beaten Namibia to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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