Nigeria vs Cameroon: Onana ahead of Nwabali in AFCON 2024 combined XI?

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All eyes will be on Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium as Nigeria and Cameroon go head-to-head on Saturday January 27.

Both teams will contend with each other for a place in the quarter-final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024).

These are two of Africa's most successful teams, with a combined eight AFCON titles between them.

There have been many great games between these two, as they've met in three Nations Cup finals.

On that note, Afrik-Foot has compiled a combined XI of the best players from both Nigeria and Cameroon.

Nigeria vs Cameroon combined XI

Nigeria's Stanley Nwabali has earned his place in our combined XI.

The Chippa United goalie kept back-to-back clean sheets against Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau, making eight saves in the process.

As it stands, it's uncertain who will start between the sticks for Cameroon, as they've alternated between Manchester United's André Onana and Nimes Olympique's Fabrice Ondoa.

To be fair, neither goalkeeper has been impressive, as they've both conceded three times in this tournament.

With that in mind, Nwabali gets the nod ahead of whoever starts in goal for Cameroon.

Stanley Nwabali Nigeria vs Cameroon
Credit: Icon Sport

It's worth mentioning that Cameroon have no clean sheets in this tournament. They've seen their defence breached six times, while Nigeria's Super Eagles conceded just once in three matches.

With that in mind, it's no surprise that Super Eagles players dominated our defensive line, with the exception of Jean-Charles Castelletto.

The Nantes player has been arguably Cameroon's best defensive player in this tournament.

He scored the team's only goal in their 3-1 loss to Senegal.

Iwobi or N'Koudou?

Cameroon's Georges-Kévin N'Koudou has been in sensational form these past few months. The Damac player scored eight times whilst providing five assists in his last eight appearances for club and country.

In fact, N'Koudou has assisted three goals in this tournament, that's as many as the Super Eagles scored in their three group games.

The 28-year-old gets into our combined XI ahead of Nigeria's Alex Iwobi.

Vincent Aboubakar back in action?

The Indomitable Lions will be pleased to have Vincent Aboubakar back in action for their clash with Nigeria. The Besiktas player has recovered from a hip injury, and will be available for selection.

Although the 32-year-old is yet to play in this tournament, we've included him in our combined XI.

Aboubakar was the top-scorer in the previous edition of this tournament with a whopping eight goals.

Nigeria vs Cameroon AFCON 2024
Photo by Icon Sport

That said, here's our combined XI:

Afrik-Foot's Nigeria vs Cameroon combined XI

Formation: 4-3-3

  • Stanley Nwabali
  • Calvin Bassey
  • William Troost-Ekong
  • Semi Ajayi
  • Jean-Charles Castelletto
  • Frank Onyeka
  • Ola Aina
  • Georges-Kévin N'Koudou
  • Ademola Lookman
  • Victor Osimhen
  • Vincent Aboubakar
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Kelechi Udoka

Kelechi is a long-suffering Valencia fan with over five years of experience writing about football, tennis, basketball, American football and baseball.

He has written thousands of articles for a few renowned sports brands like Football Whispers, What Are The Odds, Pundit Feed, Goalball Live and Mighty Tips.