Nigeria and Cameroon face-off today in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations with more than just a place in the semi-finals of the competition at stake, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The two sides clash at Casablanca’s Mohammed V Stadium in Morocco to renew their rivalry for a place in the semi-finals.
It is a battle between the tournament’s most prolific side and the team with the most solid defence record so far.
The previous encounters between the Super Falcons and the Indomitable Lionesses have always been a titanic clash between two behemoths of women’s football on the African continent, but today’s match has an additional incentive, with the winners of the epic match guaranteed an automatic Women’s World Cup qualifying spot.
Both sides last met in the semi-finals of the 2018 edition, with a penalty shootout separating them before Nigeria went on to win the tournament after another penalty triumph in the final against South Africa in Ghana.
Nine-time champions Falcons started this year’s competition on a losing note, following a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in their Group C opening match.
The Falcons have since turned up in style, beating Botswana 2-0 on match-day two, before demolishing Burundi 4-0 on Sunday to book a place in the quarter-finals and also boast the record for the team with the most goals scored – seven.
One of the unbeaten teams so far in the tournament, Cameroon also finished as their group’s runners-up, picking up five points.
The Lionesses opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Zambia, before playing another 1-1 stalemate with Togo. They however defeated Tunisia 2-0 in their last group match.
The Falcons are the most successful team at the WAFCON, with the most titles (nine) and the most victories (53), with Cameroon ending on the losing side on three of those times the Falcons triumphed.
The Lionesses were runners-up to Nigeria in 2004, 2014, and 2016.
The Cameroonians do however have the third most wins at the WAFCON (21) – behind Nigeria and South Africa and are one of just three teams to have beaten the Falcons (in 2012) in the last 16 years, even though it was their only win in the last five encounters against the Nigerians.
