Nigeria vs Cameroon - As It Happened

Skipper Ahmed Musa

by Samm Audu

Sunday Oct 11, 2015. 22:08

It was by far an improved Super Eagles tonight and they deserved their big win over rivals Cameroon

90+3 - End of the match - Nigeria 3 Cameroon 0

90+2 - Fai Collins of Cameroon is booked for a bad tackle on Shehu Abdullahi

90+1 - We are now into added time and Nigeria are still carrying this game to Cameroon, who now look all beaten

Watford striker heads past Ndy off a delightful cross from the left for the third goal of the night. The Eagles have destroyed Cameroon

88 - GOAL! Nigeria 3 Cameroon 0

85 - Ikeme comes out to clear a back pass which a Cameroon forward was chasing right inside the Nigeria goal area. That was a close shave!

83 - Cameroon have not threatened the Nigeria goal for some time now

82 - Leon Balogun cuts off another dangerous attack by Cameroon. He has also enjoyed himself in this contest

80 - 10 minutes of play left and it seems like Cameroon have lost heart...

79 Ahmed Musa comes out for Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi

78 - Ighalo caught offside

76 - Ndidi looking decent in defensive midfield for Nigeria and Moses Simon is having his best game in a Nigerian shirt for sure

74  - Nigeria change - Ighalo for Emenike

73 - Vincent Aboubakar heads into the net beyond Ikeme. But it won't count as he was offside

71 - Cameroon change - Ndy has replaced Ondoa in goal. Rabiu Ibrahim in for Igbonu, Nigeria change

70 - Emenike ought to have done more after he was set up from the left flank. Nigeria are flying here now, but you should always expect Cameroon to keep on fighting till the last minute and that is why they are known as the "African Germans".

67 - Fai Collins comes in for Bassong - Cameroon change

63 - Wilfred Ndidi comes in for Mikel, it's a defensive change. Oliseh wants to close shop against the Indomitable Lions already

62 - Nigeria 2 Cameroon 0

The Gent winger takes on Bassong after he was released by a long ball by Ahmed Musa and he let fly as the Norwich City defender retreated

60 - GOAL! Moses Simon doubles Nigeria lead

59 - Mikel gives away a corner as Cameroon launch a swift counter

56 - Carl Ikeme gets a hand to Moukandjo's goal-bound shot for a corner to Cameroon. Save of the match, maybe, but Ikeme is holding his waist. Is he injured?

54 - Foul by Nigeria's Moses Simon by the Cameroon corner flag, free kick to the Indomitable Lions

53 - Nigeria defence clear their lines again, very nicely

50 - Cameroon attack again but Leon Balogun tackles Aboubakar on the edge of the box before he could pull the trigger. It is a masterful tackle by Balogun, who is tonight playing in the heart of defence

47 - Red card for Mbia! It's a crunching foul on Igbonu and it's his second booking of the night and Cameroon will now be playing a man down and a goal down

46 - Nigeria restart this friendly

It has been a cracking first 45 minutes and we expect an even more entertaining clash after the interval

45 - End of first half - Nigeria 1 Cameroon 0

Njie breaks free from the left flank but Leonard Kweuku could not get a touch that would have restored parity for the Indomitable Lions

44 - What a miss by Cameroon!

44 - Moukandjo is taking on the Nigeria defence now as Cameroon chase the game

43 - Cameroon come close to drawing level but a cross from the right is not connected inside the Nigeria box

It has been a much improved Nigeria from the 2-0 loss to DR Congo on Thursday in Mons

40 - Nigeria win a corner after a desperate Cameroon clearance to stop the racing Ahmed Musa

Nigeria deserved their lead and Ambrose did very well to power home past the Cameroon goalkeeper off a Mikel free kick after Igbonu was fouled.

39 - GOAL! Efe Ambrose heads Nigeria ahead

38 - Igbonu is causing Cameroon defence all sorts of problems from the right wing now and he wins a free  kick in a good position

36 - Cameroon are now pushing forward, but Nigeria are not sitting back either. It's end-to-end stuff thus far

34 - Nigeria defence in taters as Efe Ambrose almost concedes an own goal after his back pass beats Carl Ikeme after Mbia superb turn turns Cameroon defence into attack.

33 - Mbia fouls Emenike and the Cameroon skipper is booked. It was a stud-showing tackle by Mbia

32 - Igbonu shoots at goal but it's an easy save for the young Cameroon goalie

31 - Cameroon win a corner, which is not connected well and goal kick to Nigeria

30 - Half an hour played and Moses Simon has roasted Kombi on the left flank with his blistering pace

28 - There is not much to choose between the two teams but Nigeria have enjoyed the better chances

26 - The pace of Nigeria is a big concern to the big Cameroon defenders, Moses Simon is really flying on the left flank for the Eagles

24 - Nigeria get forward again but Cameroon again clear their lines. There is a very competitive edge to this game, this has to do with the age-long rivalry between the two teams

22 - Emenike shoots at goal but Ondoa dives down to get a hand to his goal-bound effort. It's Nigeria's second big attempt at goal, but it still remains scoreless thus far

21 - Bassong is held back by Ahmed Musa, who is booked for the foul

20 - It remains Nigeria 0 Cameroon 0

16 - At the other end of the pitch, Igbonu tries to dash the opponents' defence and he is outmuscled. Game is held up to attend to injured Cameroon goalkeeper

15 - Cameroon open up the Nigeria defence but the attack breaks down to the relief of the Eagles

14 - Moses Simon then dashes into the Cameroon box, but the Lions defence do well to clear the danger

13 - Moments later Igbonu is fouled and Nigeria earn another free kick just outside the Cameroon goal area. The wall does it job

12 - Emenike fouled, Nigeria free kick

11 - Skipper Mbia's long ball from midfield is too long for striker Vincent Aboubakar

9 - Nigeria come close, but the Cameroon goalkeeper dives down to stop a menacing ball heading for goal from the near post

6 - Foul by Elderson, free kick to Cameroon in a good position , but Nigeria defence repel this attack

4 - Desperate defensive clearance by Nigeria rightback Shehu Abdullahi, throw-in for Cameroon deep inside the Nigeria half, but nothing comes out of this move

2 - The Indomitable Lions are seeing more of the ball at this early stage, passing the ball across the park

1 - Cameroon take the kick-off

- It is a cold night in Brussels, Europe moving from summer to winter...

- The pre-match formalities are going on now, Nigeria national anthem to be followed by that of Cameroon

- Nigeria will tonight to sporting their away kit of all-white with a slight touch of green, while Cameroon are wearing an unfamiliar yellow top over red shorts

- Nigeria and Cameroon have clashed 19 times with Nigeria winning eight of these meetings, four went in favour of Cameroon, while seven others ended in draws

- We have just been told the KO time was moved for "security reasons"

- It seems this game will start behind the scheduled 7pm KO time as both teams are yet to step out on to the pitch, only the subs are strolling to their respective benches now

- The pitch at the 11,000-capacity Stade Edmond Machtens looks lush green and we don't expect any complaints from either team about this facility

Cameroon starting line up: Ondoa, Bassong, Chedjou, Nkoulou, Kombi, Siani, Mbia, Moukandjo, Aboubakar, Njie Clinton, Kweuke. Subs : Ndy Assembe (1) ; André Onana (23) ; Zoua Jacques (9) ; Loe Raoul (4) ; Ndi Dany (20) ; Fai Collins (12) ; Salli Edgar (11) ; Eboa Eboa (15).


- The NFF have announced kick-off time is 7pm

Nigeria Starting XI: Carl Ikeme – Elderson Echiejile, Shehu Abdullahi, Efe Ambrose, Leon Balogun – Ogenyi Onazi, Mikel Obi, Sylvester Igbonu – Moses Simon, Emmanuel Emenike, Ahmed Musa (Skipper)