The amateur Lions of Cameroon were beaten by Niger (0-1) on Tuesday January 24th  and are already eliminated from the 2023 African Nations Championship.

The local Lions wanted to do better than the fourth place obtained during the previous African Nations Championship. Not so. Cameroon’s senior team was eliminated in the first round of the 2023 edition in Algeria. All credit to Niger, winner of the Lions in the final of Group E (1-0) on Tuesday in Oran.

Big disillusionment for the men of Alioum Saidou. The Cameroonians were announced as favourites after their victory against Congo, but they needed a draw to advance to the quarter-finals. The Cameroonians were quick off the mark, but they also lacked movement and struggled to find the back of the net despite numerous chances.

The Nigerians took advantage, against the run of play. The Nigerians took advantage of the situation against the run of play and Badamassi was helped by Etta Bawak who scored an own goal from a free kick on the edge of the area (1-0, 69th). Niger finished the group phase with 4 points, ahead of Cameroon (3 points). The winner of the day will face Ghana in the quarter-finals.