Perhaps in knockout football, nothing ever matters apart from the result. You go through, you go out, the rest is noise. But that is particularly true when the tie in question is the biggest rivalry in modern sub-Saharan African football. It was not the prettiest game, but it was never going to be, particularly given a pitch slippery with dew. Not many people are going to be watching the full 90 minutes back with childish wonder. But it doesn’t matter. Nigeria go on to face Angola in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations; Cameroon go home.
Nigeria were the better team. Victor Osimhen led the line tirelessly and with intelligence. Alex Iwobi was the dominant figure in midfield. At the back, William Troost-Ekong was a colossus, entirely dominant against Frank Magri. That’s three clean sheets in a row now for Nigeria and the grumbles of fans and journalists are beginning to subside into grudging respect. Keep it tight and, where there is Osimhen, there is hope. That resolve, though, may be tested going forward if the injury that led to the goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali being carried off on a stretcher is serious.
Continue reading…Perhaps in knockout football, nothing ever matters apart from the result. You go through, you go out, the rest is noise. But that is particularly true when the tie in question is the biggest rivalry in modern sub-Saharan African football. It was not the prettiest game, but it was never going to be, particularly given a pitch slippery with dew. Not many people are going to be watching the full 90 minutes back with childish wonder. But it doesn’t matter. Nigeria go on to face Angola in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations; Cameroon go home.Nigeria were the better team. Victor Osimhen led the line tirelessly and with intelligence. Alex Iwobi was the dominant figure in midfield. At the back, William Troost-Ekong was a colossus, entirely dominant against Frank Magri. That’s three clean sheets in a row now for Nigeria and the grumbles of fans and journalists are beginning to subside into grudging respect. Keep it tight and, where there is Osimhen, there is hope. That resolve, though, may be tested going forward if the injury that led to the goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali being carried off on a stretcher is serious. Continue reading…
