Nigeria enter the contest as defending champions and the most successful team in the history of the competition, while Cameroon have reached the knockout stage unbeaten.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria will face familiar opponents when they take on Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Casablanca on Sunday.
Nigeria entered the contest as defending champions and the most successful team in the history of the competition, while Cameroon have reached the knockout stage unbeaten.
But while the numbers strongly favour Nigeria, Cameroon believe they have a chance to produce a different result.
There is little to suggest that Nigeria and Cameroon have enjoyed an evenly balanced contest at the WAFCON.
The two teams have met 13 times since 1998, with Nigeria winning nine, Cameroon one, and three matches ending in draws.
The Falcons have also scored 33 goals, compared to Cameroon’s six.
Nigeria’s dominance began at the inaugural edition in 1998, when the hosts defeated Cameroon 6-0 in the semi-final.
They won 3-0 in the 2000 group stage, drew 2-2 with Cameroon in 2004 before winning the final 5-0, and repeated the 5-0 scoreline against the Lionesses in the 2006 semi-final.
Nigeria also won 5-1 in the 2010 semi-final.
Cameroon’s only WAFCON victory over Nigeria came in the 2012 third-place match, when the Lionesses won 1-0. Nigeria had earlier beaten them 2-1 in the group stage.
The Falcons then defeated Cameroon in the 2014 and 2016 finals, winning 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.
The 2018 semi-final ended 0-0, but Nigeria advanced 4-2 on penalties.
The most recent WAFCON meeting came in the 2022 quarter-final in Casablanca, where Rasheedat Ajibade scored the only goal to send Nigeria into the semi-finals and secure qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Cameroon have been one of the more consistent teams in the tournament.
The Lionesses topped Group D with seven points after beating Mali 2-1, defeating Ghana 1-0 and drawing 1-1 with debutants Cape Verde.
Marie Gisele Ngah Manga has been central to their campaign, scoring three of their four group-stage goals.
She was forced off against Ghana with an ankle problem, but has since been cleared to continue in the tournament.
Cameroon also have the confidence of their 1-0 friendly victory over Nigeria in Yaounde in February. Nigeria responded three days later with a 3-1 win in the return match.
The Lionesses are therefore aware of what Nigeria can offer, but they also know they have beaten the Falcons this year.
Cameroon midfielder Eto acknowledged Nigeria’s status as the stronger side on paper but insisted that her team would not be intimidated.
“Nigeria is a very great nation in African Women’s Football and deserves all our respect. We know we are not the favourites and, in fact, we never really were in this competition. But we also know what we want to achieve,” she told cafonline.com.
Eto said Cameroon would remain committed to their approach rather than change their style because of Nigeria’s reputation.
“We will not change the way we play. We will continue our work, apply the technical staff’s plan and seek to correct the few shortcomings that we have identified,” she said.
And while she acknowledged Nigeria’s status as favourites, Eto believes the outcome will be decided on the pitch.
“We know there is a favourite, and it’s not us, but in football nothing is a foregone conclusion.”
Nigeria’s path to the quarter-finals has been less convincing than Cameroon’s.
The defending champions suffered a 3-2 defeat to Malawi in their opening Group C match before recovering with a 1-0 victory over Zambia.
They then produced their strongest performance of the tournament so far, defeating Egypt 6-2 in their final group match.
Asisat Oshoala has been among the key attacking players, scoring against Zambia and converting a penalty against Egypt.
