The reigning champion Ivory Coast and the five-time champion Cameroon ended in a 1-1 stalemate following a fierce battle at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
Cameroon’s forward Bryan Mbeumo had a chance to secure victory with a last-minute kick, but was denied by Ivorian defender Odilon Kossounou, who courageously positioned himself in front of the ball and absorbed the impact.
Both squads showed resilience. Cameroon’s display indicated a strong team spirit under new head coach David Pagou, following the dismissal of former coach Marc Brys shortly before the tournament, as federation president Samuel Eto’o resolved their public disagreements with a series of complaints regarding the Belgian coach.
The Cameroon players made a festive entrance into the Marrakech stadium, where television cameras captured Barcelona defender Jules Koundé and Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni — both are French national team members — seated together to watch the match, alongside France star Kylian Mbappé, who was also present.
The breakthrough came in the 51st minute when Amad scored his second goal in as many matches for Ivory Coast, a beautifully curled effort inside the post.
Cameroon countered just five minutes later as Junior Tchamadeu’s shot was deflected by Ivorian defender Ghislain Konan, sending the ball over the goalkeeper. It was ruled an own goal by the left-back.
With both teams now on four points in Group F, they can feel optimistic about advancing to the knockout stage. The top two from each group, along with the four best third-place teams, will advance.
A moment of silence was observed before the match in memory of former Ivory Coast coach Jean-Louis Gasset, who passed away last week.
