Cameroon will square off against the Gambia at the Japoma Stadium in Douala on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations 2021.
How the teams got here
After their incredibly impressive unbeaten run to end as runners-up behind Mali in Group F, Gambia continued their fairytale run by defeating Guinea 1-0 on Monday, with Musa Barrow scoring the only goal of the clash in Bafoussam. The Scorpions are flying high and full of confidence, with a place in the last eight already representing a great achievement on tournament debut.
Cameroon, who topped Group A with an unbeaten record, booked their place in the final eight with a 2-1 win over another AFCON rookie, Comoros. It was not the most convincing performance from the Indomitable Lions – against an opponent which was so badly hit by Covid-19 absences that they played an outfield player as a goalkeeper – but goals from Karl Toko Ekambi and Vincent Aboubakar got the job done.
Key players
Gambia – Musa Barrow
The Italian-based attacker has been one of the key men for the Scorpions at this AFCON, inspiring not just with his two goals, but also his hard work off the ball and ability to carry possession with speed into dangerous areas.
Cameroon – Vincent Aboubakar
The Indomitable Lions striker has hit six goals at this AFCON, putting him at the front of the running for both the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards. However, he will need to keep up his form to help the hosts power into the semi-finals.
What the camps are saying
Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet on his team’s achievement thus far:
“They [the players] are my heroes. It’s a real team, they’re not individuals but a team which plays together, with a dream, with a strategy, and each player is very disciplined and does everything to achieve this.”
Cameroon coach Toni Conceicao on the performance against Comoros:
“We are not satisfied, because we encountered a lot of difficulties [against Comoros], it was a very unstable match, even if we had good moments. We could have taken another goal. I have already spoken with the players about this match, the most important thing is that everyone calms down, emotionally.”
Head-to-head
In head-to-head stats, Cameroon and Gambia have met in two previous matches – both in the qualification tournament for the 2017 AFCON – with the Indomitable Lions winning 1-0 in Bakau in September 2015 (thanks to a goal from Aboubakar) and 2-0 in Yaounde a year later (thanks to strikes from Benjamin Moukando and Toko Ekambi).
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Quarterfinal broadcast details, 29 January 2022
Saturday 29 January
18:00: Gambia v Cameroon – LIVE on SuperSport AFCON, SuperSport Maximo 2, SuperSport Maximo 360 and SuperSport GOtv Select 2
