Nigeria end Cameroon title defense
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Nigeria face hosts Tunisia in the semifinals.
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MONASTIR, Tunisia (Reuters) -- Nigeria dethroned African Nations Cup holders Cameroon when they came from a goal down to beat them 2-1 and reach the semifinals.
John Utaka scored the second-half winner on the breakaway after a tough quarterfinal tussle between the two footballing superpowers of the continent.
He was quickest to a telling pass from Nwankwo Kanu, placing his ball just wide of the Cameroon goalkeeper and into the net off the upright.
Cameroon had opened the scoring in similar circumstances through Samuel Eto'o but their lead lasted just a matter of minutes as Nigeria's captain Jay Jay Okocha scored another of his trademark free kicks for an equalizer.
Cameroon's goal came with a quick counter-attack seconds after Everton's Joseph Yobo had gone wide with a long-range effort on the other side of the pitch.
Geremi knocked a long pass into the path of Eto'o, who breezed past central defender Isaac Okoronkwo and expertly placed the ball into the net for his first goal of the tournament.
But Nigeria were level just before the interval after being handed a soft free kick on the edge of the area following a tug on the collar of Utaka's shirt by Cameroon defender Lucien Mettomo.
Curling shot
Okocha's well-established reputation for free kick expertise was given further credence with a curling shot that slammed the back of the net before Cameroon goalkeeper Idriss Carlos Kameni had even moved.
"The time has come and gone for Cameroon," said Nigerian coach Christian Chukwu.
"With this victory everything has turned around again and I believe that it is Nigeria's time to now dominate the scene once more."
Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer said: "I congratulate Nigeria. Sadly we conceded a goal right on halftime and just couldn't find the net in the second half or play our usual game.
"But despite this defeat, Cameroon are still a team with great potential and the players will bounce back."
In Sunday's other quarterfinal, Algerian fans clashed with riot police following their side's 3-1 extra time defeat by Morocco.
Algeria looked set for an upset when Abdelmalek headed them in front with six minutes left, but Marouane Chemmakh leveled for Morocco four minutes into injury time.
The Moroccans went ahead in the 23rd minute of injury time when substitute Youssef Hadji scored a brilliant solo goal and Jawad Zairi added the third in stoppage time as violence broke out between fans and police on the terraces.
Copyright 2004
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
