The minister congratulated the Super Eagles on their remarkable victory against arch-rivals Cameroon but urged them to remain focused and bring home the trophy.
Following the Super Eagles' victory over their Cameroonian opponent in the round 16 of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has urged the team to remain firm and concentrate on winning the ultimate prize.
Nigeria ran out a two-goal winner against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in a tense match played at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan on the night of Saturday, January 27, 2024.
The victory secured Nigeria's passage into the quarter-finals, where they will play Angola, who dispatched Namibia by 3-0 in the first round 16 match.
Reacting to the victory in a post on his X, formerly Twitter account, late Saturday, Keyamo noted that Nigeria was the better team on current form, and the game was only tense due to the existing rivalry between the two sides.
However, he congratulated the team but urged the players not to rest on their oars until they bring home the FCON title.
"On current form, we were actually better than Cameroon. It’s just that it was CAMEROON, the age-long ‘enemy’, so it got all of us on the edge of our seats!
"Congratulations, Super Eagles, but the job is not done yet. Keep your feet firmly on the ground until you bring the ultimate prize home!, his tweet read.
The Super Eagles got off to a flying start and thought they had taken the lead in the 9th minute when Semi Ajayi fired past Fabrice Ondoa in Cameroon's goal.
However, the strike was ruled out by the referee after a VAR review showed that the towering defender had strayed into offside before scoring.
But the boys remained undeterred and continued to apply pressure on the Cameroonian defence.
The pressure eventually paid off in the 36th minute when the current African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen, pounced on an error by a Cameroonian defender to set up Atalanta of Italy forward Ademola Lookman, whose low drive came off Ondoa and sailed into the net.
The rest of the half went by with little or no chances for the two sides as Cameroon failed to cut open the well-organised Nigerian defence. The game resumed with the same intensity and the Lions became desperate to find a leveller.
However, the Super Eagles held their line very well as they sat deep to preserve their lead. As the match wore on and Cameroon failed to find any luck in front of goal, the Eagles began to create chances to bury the game.
Ola Aina missed a great opportunity to double the three-time AFCON winners' lead in the 84th minute when he failed to hit the target after Lookman laid it on the table for him.
But the Atalanta player put the gloss on the result in the 90th minute after a brilliant interchange of passes down the left-hand side.
Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi squared a brilliant pass for his clubmate, Calvin Bassey, who found Lookman with an exquisite low drive into the box for the forward to bag his brace.
Nigeria will continue their quest for their fourth AFCON title when they take on the Palanca Negras of Angola in a grudge quarter-final tie on Friday, February 2, 2024.
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