Nigeria’s Portuguese coach, Jose Peseiro, has likened his team’s modest goal tally in the Africa Cup of Nations to a ketchup bottle with a clogged nozzle, stating that goals might flow all at once in the upcoming match against Cameroon.
Nigeria faces its seasoned rival, the five-time champions Cameroon, in the Round of 16 on Saturday.
The scarcity of goals, just one in each of the three matches played so far, raises concerns for Nigeria. Despite boasting the presence of this year’s best African player, Victor Osimhen, and the swift wingers Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon, Nigeria struggles to convert opportunities.
The Portuguese coach reassured that goals will come, saying, “It could happen in the next game, like ketchup.
Sometimes, ketchup doesn’t flow, but after that, it flows at once.
This is possible; in the next game or after, all the goals may come from fewer chances.”
The match will take place at the “Felix Houphouet-Boigny” stadium in Abidjan, a venue laden with memories for both teams.
Cameroon secured its first championship title here in 1984, defeating Nigeria 3-1.
Since then, Cameroon won two more finals against Nigeria in 1988 in Morocco and 2000 in Nigeria.
In recent years, encounters have favored Nigeria, winning in the 2004 quarterfinals in Tunisia and repeating the feat in the 2019 Round of 16 in Egypt.
Overall, Nigeria has won four of the last six encounters, with two ending in draws.
Nigeria advanced from Group A, drawing against Equatorial Guinea (1-1) in its opening match and subsequently defeating the host country Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau with 1-0 victories.
Cameroon faced a challenging journey to qualify for the second round, drawing against Guinea (1-1) and losing to Senegal (3-1) before securing a 3-1 victory over Gambia in the final round.
Nigeria clinched the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1980, 1994, and 2013, while Cameroon boasts five championships in 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, and 2017.
