A brace from Vincent Aboubakar gave hosts Cameroon the perfect start, as they came from behind to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in the opening game of the 2021 AFCON on Sunday.
It was Burkina Faso who took a shock lead through Gustavo Sangare as he volleyed home midway in the first half.
But Aboubakar converted two penalties in the first-half to record Cameroon’s second ever win against Burkina Faso at the AFCON.
Sangare netted the first goal of the tournament on 24 minutes moments after Bertrand Traore’s header was cleared off the line.
The ball was worked back into the box, Andre Onana came for it but got nowhere near, and Sangare volleyed in really well at the back post.
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With five minutes left in the half, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa went down in the box under a challenge from Bertrand Traore. The referee initially waved away the appeals, but after a VAR review he pointed to the spot and Aboubakar made no mistake.
There was no need for a review in first-half stoppage time, when Issoufou Dayo flew into a challenge and brought down Nouhou Tolo as he crossed it in.
Aboubakar again stepped up and this time sent his penalty into the opposite corner to give Cameroon a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
Cameroon thought they had a third and Aboubakar his hat-trick, after he bundled in a rebound from close range. But after a three-minute VAR review, it was eventually ruled out for offside.
The hosts next game comes up on Wednesday against Ethiopia while Burkina Faso will hope to bounce back when they face Cape Verde on the same day.
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COMMENTS
Actually Cameroon didn’t play anything, they weren’t fantastic at all, it was Burkina Faso in experience that earn Cameroon the win.
Exactly @Jide Dola.. Burkina Faso hadn’t experience the way they conceded those penalties lacked professionalism very amateurish.
Cameroon has only three big players in top European clubs the rest play in clubs if it were Nigerian won’t even sniff the senior national team.
Congratulations Cameroon
They couldn’t even score against Burkina in real time play except for the penalties on to the next game……
Great result for Cameroon.
Burkina Faso has a strong squad. Algeria failed to beat them home and away during the world cup qualifiers. So this result is more valuable than it seems.
Very impressed by the pitches. Cameroon is now miles ahead of Nigeria, when it comes to stadia and facilities!
Maybe the stadia were upgraded because of the tournament? You never know.
Pls any live stream links? I want to watch Ethiopia Vs Cape Verde
Hesgoal.com
The BFA should work on the temperament of the backmen. They lack backmen discipline. The 2 Cameroon goals were all penalties with abubaka scoring. Their backmen finished them.
No. It was Traore (the captain and striker) who committed the first stupid foul. It was akin to what James Milner did against Chelsea.
In the second penalty, the defender had every right to longe the tackle but unfortunately, he mistimed it.
These are my observations:
Cameroon were solid defensively in the second half.
Burkina Faso thoroughly deserve to lose due to that defensive recklessness.
Cameroon started slowly but grew into the match as the game wore on.
Burkina Faso were on the ascendancy in the early stages but failed to capitalise on it. In fact, their lack of defensive discipline proved costly.
Cameroon had a very good defensive arrangement in the second half. They could be tricky to break down in subsequent matches if they continue to improve on their shape and focus at the back.
Cameroon were dangerous in counter attacking scenarios. Only rash and partly cooked finishings prevented them from adding to their lead.
The brand of football played by both sides wasn’t overly vibrant. It wasn’t altogether and enjoyable experience to watch. The 3 goals came from set pieces whilst open play action across both havles had pitiful few hair raising moments.
No individual player stood out for either team and no tactical manoeuvres were on display for other teams to worry about.
It was far from a nail biting encounter.
You get the sense that there will be other matches displaying superior technical and tactical entertainment in this tournament (I hope so anyway).
OUTLOOK:
From this encounter, neither Cameroon nor Burkina Faso look like trophy contenders. On the evidence of this showing, you expect both to fall by the way side.
Both teams did not show any ability to be able to draw defenses out of position. Limited craft, guile and creativity with Burkina Faso being overly aggressive defensively.
Both teams have massive scope for improvement.
I totally disagree with you Deo on Cameroon being title contenders. What Cameroon possess is tough marksmanship, the kind never before seen in any other African team till date. That rough marksmanship and the ability to run with pace is very difficult for any other African team to match. That is the winning ingredient Cameroon possesses. Just to point out a scenario here. If this Cameroon team meets our current Super Eagles, the likes of Iwobi and Nwakali will find it difficult to get past them. Only Ndidi might survive.
Even Algeria will struggle to play this Cameroonian team base on their hard tackle and pace.
@Ben , read his thread again. It is too early to determine title contenders based on their first game. Teams improve as the tourney proceeds but going by Cameroon’s first game, you can tell they will be difficult to beat.
@Golden Child, please it is not too early to determine title contenders. That thought is the Nigerian way of saying “shebi we just dey start” mentality.
Yes there can be upsets at AFCON. But ask any African today, Cameroon ranks as one of the title contenders in this tournament. Based on past experience and the kind of players they have now.
That Vincent Abubakar played in Qatar and their only player who happens to play for arguably one of the best club in the world currently (Bayern Munich) Chopo moting was benched by a player based in Qatar. If that happens in Nigeria that coach is in trouble especially if he is not our “own” I hope some of you borrow sense from this. Qatar league is not even as good as Saudi Arabia league yet u slated the former coach as bribe taker simply because he invited a player whom he felt could help him succeed in his job. Now it’s time for our “own” wish him good luck
What kind of players does Cameroon have?
I repeat cameroon are not fantastic though is early to draw conclusion but i dont see them winning this tournament. Better and well organized teams are coming
Cameroun won fair and square. The penalties were accurate decisions, highly spoton. In fact, a Burkina Faso player should’ve being sentoff in the first munites for leg-breaking and career-ending challenge, the ref was lenient.
Aside the penalties, Burkina Faso played a good game.
Opening matches are usually very difficult and often times scrappy. But this Camerounian side is strong.
In all, I’m very impressed with the officiating – so far.
That Vincent Abubakar played in Qatar and their only player who happens to play for arguably one of the best club in the world currently (Bayern Munich) Chopo moting was benched by a player based in Qatar. If that happens in Nigeria that coach is in trouble especially if he is not our “own” I hope some of you borrow sense from this. Qatar league is not even as good as Saudi Arabia league yet u slated the former coach as bribe taker simply because he invited a player whom he felt could help him succeed in his job. Now it’s time for our “own” wish him good luck
You don’t need this repetition, we’ve heard you
Go Sidon , don’t bring Rohr nonsense here again , he never brought us any trophy through out the six years he has with us , he is just an average coach !!
Didn’t u see the difference when chpo morning came in,abubakar was woeful and wasteful with his finishing
Predicted starting eleven
Maduka Okoye
Ola Aina William Troost-Ekong and Kenneth Omeruo Zaidu Sanusi
Joe Aribo (Alex Iwobi) and Wilfred Ndidi
Chidera Ejuke (Chuwkueze), Kelechi Iheanacho (Nwakali) and Ahmed Musa (Moses Simon)
Taiwo Awoniyi (Umar)
I was impressed with the quality of officiating and degital display, the stadium and the pitch.. Anyway Cameroon deserve their win..nobody should talk down on the team because they won the by two penalties.. In the game of football penalties is a part of it.. BFA were reckless and they paid for it..Cameroon was also organized defensively and also on the counter.. If they improve on their end product.. They will be a team to reckon with.. GOD bless
Eguaveon, pls don’t start Ekong. The guy is not mentally ready for this tournament. Just a piece of advice.
Eguaveon please don’t start Ekong… Play Awaziem/Umeruo or Awaziem/Semi
I think Awaziem and omeruo will start but you never know with these coaches. I read on own goal that Ekong is suspect, we will find out. I hope the coach has found a way to work on that midfield.I will play
Okoye
Aina Awaziem omeruo zaidu
Ndidi nwakali aribo
Chukwueze sadiq ejuke
In a 433
I opted for sadiq because awoniyi fluff his lines consistently.
Exactly my point @Naija if Nigeria were to be the host, sharp sharp they would have upgraded all the stadium to international standard all because of the tourney.. May God help us…the insecurity problem is really depriving us of some of those opportunities…In Africa this is more than just a continental showpiece.. this is our own world cup. we so much love soccer.lol.
Exactly my point @Naija if Nigeria were to be the host, sharp sharp they would have upgraded all the stadium to international standard all because of the tourney.. May God help us…the insecurity problem is really depriving us of some of those opportunities…In Africa this is more than just a continental showpiece.. this is our own world cup. we so much love soccer.lol.
@Golden Child. I sincerely like your starting line-up to the core and all things being equal, it will settle the match for Nigeria against Egypt hopefully. But pls can you throw more light as to why you felt the trio of Ekong,Iwobi and Iheanacho deserve to start from the bench in this AFCON Opener.Thanks as you reply,educating us(me) constructively.
The 3 players you mentioned were left out purely on form. It is no hidden secret that Ekong has not been himself lately for club & country. One sports site reported he was suspect in their test game. He is uncomfortable with coton sport club , what will happen when he sees Salah.
For iwobi, his performance has since deteriorated to the extent a player in his club’s feeder team is starting ahead of him. At his club side also , no coach has played him consistently in the 10 role and there must be a reason for it but we Nigerians will be insisting on him being the creative hub. One thing I hope the new SE coach will do is to solve the no 10 issue because as it is , we do not have any in the team now. Amoo and tosin kehinde are good options after the afcon tourney. Iwobi brings energy and desire and one thing about iwobi is that he can pass the ball quickly but at this time, I would not risk putting him in.
Of all 3, Iheanacho has the best chance of starting but I just feel nwakali playing behind aribo and his long range passing will bring more dynamism to our midfield, allowing us to stretch teams.
Aribo is more athletic and marks better.
Also, Iheanacho has not been in the best of form lately.