Niger coach Harouna Doula has revealed that his side will not be under any pressure when they face Cameroon in their last Group E of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Tuesday.
The two sides clash at the ongoing tournament in Algeria at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran with places in the last eight at stake.
The Menas, who managed a draw against Congo in their first game, will need to overcome Cameroon to progress to the quarter-finals but insist the pressure is on their highly-fancied opponents.
"We have no pressure. It is Cameroon that have pressure because of the result that they got in their first game. We shall approach the game searching for victory and to cause problems for our opponents. We must avoid being exposed," Doula explained to the media on Monday at a press briefing in Oran.
"We saw the mistakes that they made when they were under pressure from the Congolese in their first game so we shall draw some inspiration from that ahead of our game against them tomorrow."
Niger who were cheered on by an impressive outing of fans in their first game are looking forward to the same support when they face Cameroon in a do or die fixture.
"We are very happy that we have a great number of Niger fans here in Algeria. This kind of support is very important for us in a competition like this. The players love it and we gain so much momentum from them in the stands."
Niger is to the southeast of Algeria and thousands of Nigerien fans live in Oran. The Menas also have massive support from the people of Oran who turn up for neighbourly duties to support Doula's side.
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"This is a final before the final. It is a decisive match for us. Cameroon have an advantage in this match but we want to progress in the competition. We had a timid team against Congo. We were shy but it is because of the level of the tournament. We shall now try to be more expressive and to create more chances in front of goal."
Meanwhile, midfielder Faycal Iboun Abdoulaye Seyni echoed his coach's speech and said, "We have good morale within the camp. Considering the task ahead, we are ready. We were wasteful against Congo, but we have been working on this."
"We want to give everything in this game. We have discussed a lot amongst ourselves, and we believe in each other to get this qualification. We shall give 200% in this game."
Asked if Niger will be able to stop Cameroon's star player Jerome Ngom Mbekeli, Doula said that his side will not focus on one individual player but rather how well the Menas can play as a collective to seek that victory that will take them to the next level in the competition.
Cameroon sit top of Group E with three points following a 1-0 win over Congo while Niger sit second with just a point. Congo were eliminated from the competition following a goalless draw with Niger in their second game.
The three-team Group E means that just one team will progress to the quarterfinals of the 18-team TotalEnergies CHAN 2022 edition.
Niger face Cameroon at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium on Tuesday, January 24 at 1900 GMT.
