Nigeria and Cameroon square off in titanic encounter

In one of the picks of the round, two former champions will go head to head when Nigeria take on Cameroon in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations last 16 at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Saturday.

Neither team has set the tournament alight yet as the Super Eagles finished second in Group A behind Equatorial Guinea, while the Indomitable Lions avoided elimination courtesy of a dramatic 3-2 win against Gambia.

Jose Peseiro's side kicked off their title challenge with a 1-1 draw against the National Thunder before recording back-to-back 1-0 wins over hosts Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau.

Meanwhile, the former five-time Afcon winners drew 1-1 with Guinea first up in Group C and suffered a 3-1 defeat to defending champions Senegal to leave their tournament dreams hanging by a thread.

Trailing 2-1 to the Scorpions with five minutes left to play, an own-goal from James Gomez (87') gave Rigobert Song's side hope and Christopher Wooh's 91st-minute winner saw them advance as runners-up  to the Lions of Teranga.

The two giants of African football have met three times on the continent's biggest stage, with Nigeria winning 3-2 in 2019 and 2-1 in 2004 after Cameroon triumphed 4-3 on penalties following a 2-2 draw four years earlier.

Victor Osimhen remains the Super Eagles' biggest threat and he will be hoping for better fortunes after failing to take his chances against the Djurtus on January 22.

The 2023 African Footballer of the Year missed the target with two headers and had a goal chalked off for handball on 59 minutes, leaving him on just one goal in the tournament.

Frank Anguissa is expected to carry on wearing the armband in the absence of injured Vincent Aboubakar and will be tasked with nullifying Nigeria's midfield.

The Napoli man has featured in every minute of Cameroon's opening three matches in Ivory Coast and is vastly experienced with over 50 caps to his name.

Peseiro admitted Nigeria could have had an easier opponent (Guinea) in the last 16 had they won their group and has urged his players to be more ruthless in the final third as any mistake they make could prove costly.

"I am not 100 per cent happy because we deserved to finish top of the group. We deserved to beat Equatorial Guinea and then we would have had nine points," the Portuguese tactician said.

"It's a new competition that's starting for us. The most important part of a competition, the knockout matches. We will have to be more clinical in front of goal because the slightest mistake will be fatal for us."

Song has come under increasing pressure during the African spectacle and is tipped to become the next coach to be sacked after Jean-Louis Gasset, Chris Hughton, Djamel Belmadi and Jalel Kadri all lost their jobs this week, while Tom Saintfiet resigned.

The former Cameroon international is remaining calm in the face of criticism, however, and has faith in his players to perform. 

"I've experienced pressure since I was very young. I've known it, pressure, as a player," he said. "It's part of the game; you win, you're strong but you lose, you're bad. 

"I don't panic, I don't stress. I listen, I understand the criticism, I know what I have to do, I stay calm. My players know me, I simply tell them, 'do your job'. I trust my players, we'll get there."

HEAD- TO-HEAD
Matches             - 8
Nigeria wins       - 4
Cameroon wins  - 2
Draws                 - 2