Confirmed: Nigeria’s Super Eagles to battle eternal rivals Cameroon for AFCON 2023 quarterfinal ticket

The three-time African champions qualified as the runners-up in Group C after Equatorial Guinea edged them to top spot on goal difference

Nigeria will trade tackles with Cameroon in the last-16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Super Eagles booked their spot in the last-16 of the AFCON on Monday after beating Guinea-Bissau 1-0 in their last Group A fixture.

The three-time continental champions finished second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea despite claiming the same number of wins (2) and draws (1) as the National Thunder.

After finishing as runners-up in Group A, the Super Eagles were scheduled to meet with the runners-up in Group C.

After the final round of Group C matches played on Tuesday, Senegal sealed the top spot with nine points following a 2-0 victory over Guinea, courtesy of second-half goals from Abdoulaye Seck and Iliman Ndiaye. 

With their tough loss to Senegal, Guinea lost second place as Cameroon rallied late to beat Gambia 3-2 in the other group match.

The Cameroonians were on the way out of the competition by the 85th minute when Gambia led by 2-1 after turning around a one-goal deficit. 

However, luck smiled in the direction of the Indomitable Lions two minutes later when Gambia’s defender James Gomez put through his own, and Christopher Wooh headed home a stoppage-time winner for the former champions. 

The last Nigeria faced Cameroon in the knockout round of the AFCON was in 2019, when an Odion Ighalo brace and a fine Alex Iwobi strike propelled the Super Eagles to a 3-2 victory. 

Cameroon are, however, Nigeria’s worst nightmare at the AFCON, with the Indomitable Lions beating the Eagles at the 1984, 1988, and 2000 finals to win gold.