Cameroon Through After Thriller Against The Gambia1 min read
Cameroon came from behind with two late goals to reach the last 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, beating The Gambia in a thriller to knock their opponents out of the tournament.
The five-time champions secured second place in Group C on goals scored.
Rigobert Song’s side will next face Nigeria at Abidjan’s Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Saturday (20:00 GMT).
The Scorpions looked to have dashed Cameroon’s hopes with a 93rd-minute goal but it was ruled out for handball.
Guinea’s 2-0 defeat against group winners Senegal allowed Cameroon to move above them in the final table, although the Syli National advance as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Tom Saintfiet resigned as The Gambia coach after their exit without a point but the world’s 126th-ranked team – the lowest in the competition – were on course to extend his stay with a huge upset when Ebrima Colley curled them ahead for the first time, making it 2-1 from a tight angle with less than six minutes of normal time remaining.
Victory for Saintfiet’s spirited squad would have put them in contention to go through among the third-placed teams and knocked Cameroon out, only for James Gomez to turn the ball beyond his own goalkeeper and make it 2-2 two minutes later when the centre-back lunged in to attempt to intercept Enzo Tchato’s cross.
Having been on the brink of elimination, Cameroon climbed into second spot a minute into added time when Christopher Wooh rose to head a corner beyond Baboucarr Gaye’s dive.
The abundance of late twists continued when Muhammed Sanneh – one of five changes made by Saintfiet – turned in a cross for a goal that was disallowed for handball by a VAR check.
