Nigeria held Cameroon to a 1-1 draw at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde on Monday, in Group B of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Moses Simon gave the visitors the lead in the first half but a second half penalty from Vincent Aboubakar means the Super Eagles need to wait a little longer before a berth in Russia can be sealed.
The Super Eagles were in high spirits heading to Yaoundé as coach Gernot Rohr started with the same XI that won 4-0 in Uyo. It was however the Indomitable Lions that started on the front foot, putting the visitors under early pressure.
Hugo Broos’ men had the chance to take the lead but Ikechukwu Ezenwa did well to keep it out.
Cameroon continued to dominate possession but they just couldn’t make anything out of it with the Nigerian backline looking well organised.
Nigeria took the lead in the 30th minute through Moses Simon who connected with a Victor Moses delivery after a poor clearance from Cameroon, to blast a fierce shot home.
Ighalo had the chance to make it 2-0 after a nice piece of skill but he blasted the ball wide.
Cameroon tried to find the equaliser but nothing came through for the lions, who went on the break 1-0 down.
They however continued to push hard in getting a goal back after the break but Nigeria defended in large numbers to clear all their threats.
Moses had a glorious chance to extend the Super Eagles lead but saw his effort hit the crossbar having made a meal of three Cameroonian defenders.
The Referee pointed to the penalty spot in the 75th minute after Ezenwa clashed with Djoum Arnaud. Vincent Aboubakar took the spot kick and tucked it into the middle of the net to level the scoring 1-1.
The result extended Nigeria’s lead in Group B to 10 points over Zambia who travel to take on Algeria on Tuesday. Nigeria will need to wait for their next game against the Chipolopolo in October if they are to stand a chance of qualifying.
On the part of Cameroon, their hopes of booking a ticket to Russia is over as they have three points and won’t be able to catch up in their remaining two games.