The Super Eagles of Nigeria will face perennial foe and neighbors, Cameroon in the round of 16 of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The fixture is coming after the latter finished second in Group C following a dramatic 3-2 win over Gambia on Tuesday evening.
Having finished second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea, the qualification path meant Nigeria would face runners-up in Group C, a position that Cameroon occupies.
After a goalless first half, Toko Ekambi opened the scoring for Cameroon 11 minutes after the break, but Ablie Jallow cancelled the lead in the 72nd minute.
In the 85th minute, Ebrima Colley gave the Gambia a surprising lead, which meant Cameroon was out of the competition. But James Gomez’s own goal two minutes later restored the Indomitable Lions’ hope.
Inside the nine minutes of stoppage time, Christopher Wooh restored Cameroon’s lead with a powerful header into the bottom corner of the net, but that was not the end of drama in the game.
A few minutes later, Gambia got an equaliser, which spelt another jeopardy in Cameroon’s pursuit of a round of 16 tickets. Fortunately for the Central African country, the goal was cancelled after a handball in the build-up.
The victory meant Cameroon joined Senegal, who defeated Guinea 2-0 in their other final Group C match, as the two teams automatically advanced to the knockout round of the AFCON.
Abdoulaye Seck gave Senegal the lead with a smooth header one minute after the hour mark before substitute Iliman Ndiaye sealed the win with a calm finish in the 90th minute.
Senegal finished the group stage with a perfect nine points from three games; Cameroon and Guinea finished with four points each and a negative goal difference, but Cameroon scored more.
Guinea’s chance of reaching the next round is very high as they could be one of the four best third-placed teams that will advance to the next round, a ranking they currently top.
Meanwhile, Gambia finished last in the group with no points after losing all their matches.
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