Nigeria-Cameroon AFCON Clash Sets Up Trilogy Of Intense Rivalry

The mouth-watering Africa Cup of Nations’ Round of 16 clash of Nigeria and Cameroon on Saturday triggers off a trilogy of intense rivalry of the two neighbouring countries.

They last met at the same stage in the 2019 edition in Egypt. After Saturday’s clash of the senior men’s teams, the senior women will again clash for final qualification for the 2024 Olympics women football event.

Just as the Super Eagles and the Cameroon Indomitable Lions are eternal rivals, so also are their women’s counterparts and both contested the final matches of WAFCON in 1991, 2004, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The Nigerian women’s team will host their Cameroon counterparts on 19 February in the first leg. The match is the second football match pitching Nigeria and Cameroon together.

The trilogy will be completed with the second leg match of the Olympic qualifier in Cameroon on 28 February.

Beyond the rivalry on the football pitch, there is a boxing angle to it as Nigeria-British boxer will face Cameroon-French  professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer,  Francis Zavier Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on March 8