Three days after their appalling defeat to DR Congo, coach Sunday Oliseh’s men would be hoping to bounce back to winning ways against Cameroon.
The African heavyweights renew their arch rivalry in a friendly game in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Stade Edmond Machtens in Brussels.
It is almost 11 years since the two nations locked horns, when Nigeria ran out a 2-1 winner in Monastir, and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.
Many had hoped that Cameroon and Nigeria would meet in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final, but the Eagles had other ideas as they failed to qualify for the tournament staged in Equatorial Guinea which saw Cote d’Ivoire beat Ghana in the final.
The Super Eagles since then have undergone transformation with the appointment of Oliseh who took over from Stephen Keshi after falling out with the Amaju Pinnick led Nigeria Football Federation.
Oliseh started his reign with a 0-0 draw in Tanzania before caging Niger Republic 2-0 for his first win. However, his first defeat came in an embarrassing manner against DR Congo in Vise as his Eagles were clipped 2-0 by the Leopards with Dieumerci Mbokani and Jordan Nkololo punishing the former African champions for their lackadaisical display.
To Cameroon, this game in Brussels is more than a friendly affair as they would be all out to avenge their defeat to their arch rival at the 2004 Afcon staged in Tunisia. Coming into this game, Volker Finke’s side spanked KV Oostende 3-1 on Thursday and they would be hoping to continue their fine run.
If the Eagles must get a morale boosting win, they must tidy up their shaky defence line else they would be punished by the deadly Vincent Aboubakar, Aurelin Chedjou and Clinton Njie.
Nigeria’s line-up look pretty unsettled following the unavailability of some home based professionals to join the team owing to visa hitches. Mikel Obi will be central to his nation’s hopes against the Lions as there have calls for Alex Iwobi to start following an impressive debut DR Congo.
The game kicks off 7.00pm Nigeria time.
