Super Eagles soar over Cameroon, reaches AFCON quarter-finals

Nigeria reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after Ademola Lookman scored twice to beat a disappointing Cameroon 2-0 in the round of 16 in Abidjan.

The Atalanta forward opened the scoring nine minutes before the break after Victor Osimhen forced Oumar Gonzalez into a mistake and then teed up Lookman to fire past goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa, who was preferred against Andre Onana.

Former England Under-21 international Lookman sealed the win in the 90th minute after one of the game’s best moves, volleying home Calvin Bassey’s cut-back to spark huge celebrations among the three-time champions.

Despite introducing Vincent Aboubakar, top scorer at the 2021 edition, late on for his first appearance after a muscle injury sustained on the eve of the finals, Cameroon failed to register a single shot on target.

The Super Eagles will meet Angola, who impressed in a 3-0 win over Namibia earlier, in the last eight on Friday, also in the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium.

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Victor Osimhen showed great vision to find Ademola Lookman with a cheeky pass inside the box, and his first-time shot was precise and sailed into the right side of the goal.

Earlier, the Nigerian side had scored in the ninth minute but it was ruled offside after VAR review.

The ball had rebounded and arrived at the feet of Semi Ajayi just outside the box. He fired a brilliant shot inside the right post. His celebration was cut short as the goal was overruled.

In the 56th minute, a decent effort was taken by Lookman from a close-range free kick. His attempt flew narrowly over the crossbar.

In the 86th minute, Ola Aina collected a pass and found himself in a good position to strike from the edge of the box, but his attempt was blocked.

In the 90th minute, Lookman scored his brace to give the Eagles 2-0 lead. Calvin Bassey found Lookman with a clever pass. He stepped inside his man on the edge of the box and whipped a tremendous shot into the right side of the goal.