Cameroon Fight Back to Hold Ivory Coast as Group F Remains Wide Open
Five-time Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winners Cameroon fought back to hold defending champions Ivory Coast to a gripping 1-1 draw in Marrakech, moving both nations onto four points in Group F.
Ivory Coast and Cameroon entered matchday two in high spirits after opening the tournament with 1-0 victories over Mozambique and Gabon, respectively. After the two nations showcased their sturdy defences on matchday one, it was unsurprising that there were not too many clear-cut opportunities in an intense first period.
Those in attendance, including Barcelona’s Jules Kounde and Real Madrid stars Aurelien Tchouameni and Kylian Mbappé, were given reason to get excited when Cameroon’s Christian Kofane’s first-time effort was pushed onto the crossbar by the alert Yahia Fofana in the most dramatic moment of the half.
The opening 45’ proved to be the appetiser to a thrilling start to the second period, which produced two goals and a disallowed effort all before the hour mark.
Franck Kessie’s composed finish was chalked off for offside, shortly before Danny Namaso’s deflected effort crashed against the frame of Fofana’s goal.
The woodwork was still shaking when Amad Diallo conjured up a magical finish at the opposite end of the pitch, neatly working the space to curl home an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box.
However, to Les Elephants’ frustration, Diallo’s second strike of the tournament was soon cancelled out by Junior Tchamadeu’s deflected effort.
Letting fly from the right side of the box, the Stoke City man saw the ball deflect up from Ghislain Konan’s attempted block and over the backpeddling Devis Epassy, whose right hand could not prevent it from dropping over the line.
Bryan Mbeumo threatened to complete the turnaround when he whipped a free-kick just wide of the post, ensuring his nation had to make do with a share of the spoils, which guarantees a minimum of a top-three finish for both teams.