As anticipation for one of the biggest fixtures in the round of 16 of AFCON 2023, Nigeria vs Cameroon, here are five facts and figures about the different times the two sides have met so far in the history of African football.
With injury updates surfacing ahead of the must-win round of 16 fixture of AFCON 2023, Nigeria and Cameroon have a long history of them meeting each other on the biggest football stages and both sides have lived up to the expectations of delivering a remarkable footballing experience to fans and their showdown at the Africa Cup of Nations is slowly gearing up to be one for the books as well.
Here are five facts and figures you should know about the Nigeria vs Cameroon football fixture:
This is not the first Nigeria vs Cameroon AFCON round of 16 fixture in history
This is not the first time the Nigeria vs Cameroon fixture will be played in the round of 16 at AFCON, as well as it is not the first time the two countries will face each other in the knock out stage of the competition.
Nigeria took on Cameroon for the first time in the round of 16 of AFCON in 2019 with the Super Eagles with goals from Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi securing a 3-2 victory over the Indomitable Lions in this stage of the competition.
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Nigeria and Cameroon have also played each other three different times in the finals of AFCON in 1984, 1988 and 2000, respectively.
Nigeria has a better recent head-to-head
Nigeria and Cameroon have met a total of seven times at AFCON with the two sides winning three each and drawing one. Nigeria has won three of their last 4 meetings with Cameroon at AFCON with the Indomitable Lions winning their first three meetings in the competition. Nigeria is the only country aside from Egypt (4) that has defeated Cameroon three times.
Cameroon has the best probability of scoring goals in the round of 16
Cameroon's Georges-Kévin Nkoudou is the player that has created the highest number of chances at AFCON 2023 with a total of 10 chances created, the Indomitable Lions have failed to convert these chances but the recent recovery of the captain Vincent Aboubakar makes the possibility of converting these chances in the fixture against Nigeria high.
Historical qualification for Cameroon
Cameroon, the five-time CAF Africa Cup of Nations champions, managed to secure their place in the knockout stage of the 2023 tournament despite conceding six goals in the group stage. This was their highest number of goals conceded in the groups since 1996, when they had conceded seven goals. However, despite this setback, Cameroon showed great resilience and determination to progress to the next stage.
It is worth mentioning that this was the first time Cameroon had advanced from an AFCON group stage despite having a negative goal difference. They scored five goals in the group stage but conceded six, giving them a goal difference of -1.
Nigeria has a better AFCON knock out stage record
For the 15th time in a row, Nigeria has successfully advanced to the knockout stages of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations tournament, marking an impressive feat in their football history. However, their last two knockout ties (the 2019 semi-finals and the 2021 last 16) resulted in losses, following a four-match winning streak. Nonetheless, Nigeria holds the record for the most matches played (40) and won (22) in the knockout stages of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, surpassing any other nation.
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