New duo made to excel (5)

I believe the answer is:

outdo

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'excel' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I don't understand the rest of the clue.

(Other definitions for outdo that I've seen before include "Perform better than surpass" , "Be better in performance (than another person)" , "Br superior to (someone)" , "Perform better than another" , "Perform better than (someone)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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