YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Hosts Cameroon and Burkina Faso have powered into the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2021) after they defeated Gambia and Tunisia respectively.
Cameroon marched on with a brace by striker Karl Toko Ekambi sending the tournament host into the semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Gambia.
The two goals came in a seven-minute burst in the second-half as Cameroon finally converted their superiority into goals in front of an ecstatic crowd at the Japoma Stadium.
Burkina Faso defeated Tunisia 1-0 at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua to seal a place in AFCON semi-finals.
Teenager Dango Ouattara, 19, held off two defenders to strike home the ball from close range after a breakaway attack in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of the first-half.
It is the third time in the last five editions of the continental championship that Burkina Faso has got to the semi-finals.
Cameroon stops Gambia
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are through to the semi final stage at the on-going AFCON 2021.
Cameroon stopped Gambia 2-0 in a quarter-final match played this evening at the Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon.
After a goalless first half, the 5-time AFCON winners Cameroon returned charged and determined to get the goals.
The tournament’s leading scorer Vincent Aboubakar and Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu had their shots blocked for Cameroon, while Gambia’s James Gomez also had his attempts stopped in the first half.
But it was Karl Toko Ekambi who netted a brace early in the second half to make sure the Indomitable Lions roar into the semi final stage.
Ekambi made it 1-0 after 50 minutes with a well timed header. The Gambian defenders failed to react quickly to stop Ngran Suiru Fai Collins from crossing the ball for Ekambi to score.
The Gambian technical bench replaced star player Modou Barrow with Pa Modou Jagne after 55 minutes, but the Indomitable Lions instead pushed forward and made it 2-0 after 57 minutes. Ekambi again gave the Gambian goalkeeper Baboucarr Gaye no chance.
Cameroon continued to dominate play in the midfield and on the wings causing problems for the Gambian team.
Coach Antonio Conceicao da Silva Oliveira’s Cameroon team will now wait to face the winner between Egypt and Morocco at the semi-final stage. The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon remain in line chasing for a sixth AFCON title.
“I’m proud of the performance of the team tonight, Gambia is a difficult team to play but we never gave up even when we struggled in first-half. We kept working and we got the crack,” Cameroon’s forward Karl Toko-Ekambi said.
“It’s good, everyone has a role to play in this team, in 2017, I played a lot less, it’s not the case tonight, it’s victory at the end that is the most important. We are a family, the group lives well. The group prefers to focus on the present, this competition and not focus on the past with what happened in 1972, we want to write our own history,” Toko-Ekambi added.
“I am satisfied with my players who respected the instructions to go and win the match despite the missed opportunities in the first period. In addition to the victory, it was our match where the attack-defense balance was the most respected,” Cameroon’s coach Toni Conceicao said.
“I am very happy with our production against a great team from Gambia. In truth, she did not change her strategy, she beat her success in this way and tonight we insisted on our game.
“Regarding the semi-finals, what worries me the most is to see my players to recover, it was a physically demanding match. We will rest and analyze our next opponent and put the strategy in place. I’m really happy with my players,” Conceicao added.
Ten-man Burkina Faso stuns Tunisia
Dango Aboubacar Ouattara’s goal on the stroke of halftime was enough for Burkina Faso to beat Tunisia 1-0 and progress to the semi-finals in Cameroon 2021.
Dango Ouattara who was sent off in the closing stages scored on the stroke of halftime to give Kamou Malo’s side the victory against the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia.
The Stallions who were without their talisman and captain Bertrand Traore started brightly at the Omnisports Roumde stadium in Garoua.
The Burkinabe controlled possession in the opening exchanges with Steeve Yago and Ibrahim Toure pulling the strings in midfield.
Cyrille Bayala had the first opening of the closely contested match when he found space on the left to shoot straight at Bechir Said in the Tunisian goal midway through the first half.
The Carthage Eagles were denied by Koffi on 26 minutes when he dived to his left to save Wahbi Khazri’s fierce free kick.
The two sides continue to cancel each other in midfield while they try to break on the counter.
A defensive mistake in the Burkinabe box almost allowed Jaziri to score when he charged down Soumaila Ouattara.
Dango broke the deadlock with a neat finish from a swift counter attack. Ibrahim Toure played him through on goal and he cut inside before firing past Bechir.
The Tunisians returned after the break with more determination as they search for the equaliser.
Kouakou Koffi pulled another brilliant save from a set piece to keep his lead. Substitute Ali Maaloul struck a sumptuous strike but Koffi was equal to it.
The Stallions were reduced to ten men late on when goal scorer Dango was sent off for swinging an arm on a Tunisian defender.
The Burkinabe held on to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament and they will meet the winner between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea.
Security measures
Authorities in Douala massively stepped up their security operation around the ground in an attempt to avoid any repeat.
Army officers with rifles stood atop buildings lining the route to the stadium while vast numbers of police patrolled the streets and watched over entrances.
On the eve of the game Cameroon’s sports minister announced a raft of measures aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Olembe disaster.
Those included stopping the distribution of free tickets and banning children under 11 from attending games.
The minister also urged supporters to arrive earlier, and the gates at Japoma opened five hours prior to kick-off.
That meant the deafening noise of vuvuzelas filled the air well before the Cameroon team arrived, dancing their way from the bus to the changing room, and only stopped momentarily for the silence in memory of the crush victims.
Coronavirus restrictions put in place for the AFCON have limited crowds to a maximum of 60 percent of capacity but that is raised to 80 percent when the host nation play, and the official attendance was 36,259.
The opening goal arrived five minutes into the second half as right-back Collins Fai crossed and Toko-Ekambi headed into the far corner.
Out came the vuvuzelas, and the crowd were on their feet again on 57 minutes as the impressive Martin Hongla sent a low ball across goal for Toko-Ekambi to finish emphatically for his fifth goal at this AFCON.
Captain Vincent Aboubakar, with six, is the only player with more and together they have scored all of Cameroon’s goals.
‘Emotional’
Pending confirmation from the Confederation of African Football, Cameroon are now due to return to Olembe for their semi-final on Thursday.
In Garoua in the north of the country, Dango Ouattara scored the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time as Burkina Faso edged Tunisia to set up a semi-final against either Senegal or Equatorial Guinea.
Ouattara, just 19, then turned villain eight minutes from time when a yellow card for elbowing Ali Maaloul was changed to a red after the referee from Botswana checked the touchline VAR monitor.
Success for Burkina Faso came just five days after the landlocked west African country was plunged into political uncertainty when President Roch Marc Christian Kabore was ousted in a military coup.
“I’m very emotional. Allow me to dedicate this win to our people who are being tested by current events,” said Burkina Faso coach Kamou Malo according to AFP.
“The Burkinabe people will always stand up, just like the team. We put in the time today and we want to go all the way in this competition.”
