Host, Cameroon, will face debutants, Comoros, at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 later today at 19:00 GMT at the Olembe Stadium, Yaounde.
This will be the first Africa Cup of Nations encounter between Cameroon and Comoros and will be just the third time that the tournament hosts will play a debutant in a knock-out round match, after Egypt vs Sudan in 1957 (semi-finals) and Ethiopia vs Tunisia in 1962 (semi-finals).
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have lost just one Africa Cup of Nations match since the beginning of the 2017 edition (P13 W6 D6 L1), a 3-2 defeat against Nigeria in the Round of 16 encounter in 2019.
Cameroon has reached at least the quarter-finals in eight of its last 10 Africa Cup of Nations, although the Indomitable Lions failed to do so in two of their previous three editions (group stage in 2015 and Round of 16 in 2019).
Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar, who is this tournament’s top scorer so far (5 goals), could become the first player to score more than five goals in a single edition of the Africa Cup of Nations since Egypt’s Hossam Hassan and South Africa’s Benni McCarthy (both 7) in 1998.
Comoros seeks another upset
Comoros will seek to build on its superb performance against the Black Stars of Ghana in the final Group C match to pull another upset against the resilient Cameroonian team in front of their home fans. Reports indicate that some of the Comoros players have tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be available, including their goalkeepers.
“We are living a dream”, said Comoros captain Nadjim Abdou, at the pre-match conference ahead of the historic round of 16 clash against the Indomitable Lions.
Comoros, along with Gambia, could become the fourth team in the 21st century to reach at least the quarter-finals in its first participation at the AFCON, after Equatorial Guinea (2012), Cape Verde (2013) and Madagascar (2019).
“We played our all-out during the group stage and that’s what allowed us to progress to the round of 16. We are experiencing an exceptional situation with several players and staff members affected by COVID-19. We must manage this situation and find the necessary solutions. We will play with the same values, with our usual state of mind”.
Daniel Padovani, Comoros Goalkeepers Coach
Meanwhile, at 16:00 GMT today, Gambia will face Guinea in the West Africa Darby with the debutants, Gambia, hoping to make a historic quarterfinal appearance.
Round of 16 matches
So far, two teams have secured their qualification to the quarterfinals stage of the competition. The first team to qualify was the Stallions of Burkina Faso who defeated Gabon 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. In the second match, the Eagles of Carthage defeated 10-man Super Eagles of Nigeria 1-0 at the Roumdé Adjia Stadium in Garoua on Sunday, January 23, 2021.
The first half was a balanced affair although the Tunisians blocked lots of the Super Eagles wing play. After a goalless first half, skipper Youssef Msakni gave Tunisia the lead two minutes into the second half. Maskni beat one defender and found space to shoot from outside the box.
Nigerian goalkeeper, Emil Okoye, had a touch on the ball, but it rested in the net. Alex Iwobi who plies his trade for Everton in the English Premier League, replaced striker Kelechi Iheanacho in the 59th minute, but his bad tackle on the Tunisian captain, Msakni, saw him earn an early send-off to the dressing room.
This compounded the woes of the Super Eagles who were desperate to find an equalizer. The Eagles of Carthage defended well and made sure they dominated more of the possession play, containing the threats posed by Nigeria’s Moses Simon, Wilfred Ndidi and Samuel Chukwueze. The Carthage Eagles will now face the Stallions in the quarterfinals of the competition.
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