Cameroon eliminates a heroic Comoros and goes to the quarterfinals

Host Cameroon qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals after beating debutant Comoros 2-1, who were unable to overcome countless adversities before and during the match that ended their dream of staying alive. in the competition.

The list of adversities was long: first, he was playing against the host; second, Cameroon had not lost at home for 20 years; third, the goalkeeper was left-back Chaker Alhadhur, who played between the posts because COVID-19 affected two goalkeepers from Comoros while the other was out due to injury; fourth, Alhadhur himself had only played one match this season in the ranks of Ajaccio; and, fifth, their captain Nadjim Abdou saw the fastest red card in the history of the competition after stepping on Nicolás Moumi’s left ankle with his cleats after five minutes.

The red in minute 5, the height of misfortunes

Abdou’s departure from the field was the icing on the cake of the misfortunes of Comoros, which only a few days ago, after reaching the round of 16 after giving the great surprise against the powerful Ghana (2-3), approached with enthusiasm a historic tie. Overcoming the group stage in their first participation in the Africa Cup of Nations was already a success and reaching the quarterfinals, and even more so with all the elements against it, was already presented as a feat.

Alhadhour learned of his new demarcation the same morning of the duel, when the last healthy goalkeeper, Ali Ahamada, tested positive for coronavirus. The ‘contaminated’ goalkeepers were not the only ones, as in total Comoros racked up 12 COVID-19 casualties to face Cameroon, including their coach Amir Abdou. The image of Alhadhour just before the game wearing a number three on his shirt made of duct tape on top of his usual 16, was quite a poem.

It was a matter of time before Comoros kissed the canvas. He did enough to endure half an hour without conceding a goal. It was Toko Ekambi who brought Zerdouk’s men back to reality with the goal that opened Cameroon’s path to victory. With a cross shot, he ended the resistance of Chaker Alhadhur, who then began to stop the Cameroonian opportunities to avoid the thrashing.

Aboubakar’s sixth goal in the tournament

Vicent Aboubakar, on two occasions, and Nicolás Moumi were met by the unexpected interventions of the goalkeeper by surprise. He lasted until the 70th minute, when Aboubakar, with a great movement inside the area, increased the lead and put an end to the resistance of a heroic goalkeeper up to that moment. It is the sixth goal of the maximum scorer of the tournament.

Comoros puts emotion with a brutal free kick goal

The 2-0 should have ended the tie. However, Comoros did not give up and threw everything into an impossible feat. He warned with a shot at Abdallah Mohamed’s post and hit the target with one of the best goals of the championship. Youssouf M’Changama, with a beastly free-kick from far away, gave his team hope (81′).

Cameroon, then, rolled up their sleeves to avoid any outbreak of fire. A draw would have been a humiliation against a smaller team that went into the match wrapped in innumerable problems and that played practically the entire game with a man less. In the end, the hosts held on, Comoros fell with full honors and Cameroon will face Gambi, who previously beat Guinea (0-1) in the quarter-finals.