Burkina Faso 3-3 (3-5 on pens) Cameroon
In the end, the penultimate match of the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 proved to be an absolute thriller.
Dreams of what might have been for the two defeated semi-finalists soon disappeared as Burkina Faso and hosts Cameroon managed to produce one more evening of African Cup of Nations highlights.
Just 48 hours after penalties’ heartbreak, this seemed one hill too high for Cameroon who trailed their opponents 3-0 four minutes after the restart.
Yet the Indomitable Lions showed their character to regroup and fight back with three goals in the final 19 minutes to force a dramatic penalty shoot-out where they made no mistake.
What character.
Highlights of the game
After the two nations met in the opening match of the tournament a month ago, when Cameroon triumphed 2-1, they perhaps had not considered they would cross swords again so soon.
Since that defeat, the Burkinabe had enjoyed an exceptional tournament by reaching the semi-finals against the odds, whereas 2017 winners Cameroon were very much among the favourites as reflected by the SBOTOP African Cup of Nations betting odds.
Burkina Faso though remained unsatisfied and a chance to seal a place on the podium and third place – equalling their second best ever finish in the tournament’s history – was their target.
They grabbed the lead midway through the first half when Steeve Yago lashed the ball into the roof of the net after a fine cross from fellow full-back Issa Kabore.
A bizarre own goal from goalkeeper Andre Onana – who tried to block a cross but inadvertently knocked it into his own net – just before the break, followed by a Djibril Ouattara header shortly after the interval from a Bertrand Traore delivery, seemed to have settled it.
Yet Cameroon were not done and in Vincent Aboubakar had a man targeting the tournament’s top scorer prize.
After Stéphane Bahoken netted what seemed a 71st minute consolation, Aboubakar took charge with a quick-fire double to take his tally to eight goals in seven games.
He headed home Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu’s corner with five minutes remaining and, just three minutes later, capped a superb fightback with a right-foot leveller.
In the end, he and his team-mates were just as clinical from 12 yards to win 5-3 on spot-kicks and bring some smile to a nation which has little to smile given tragic events in recent weeks.
Burkina Faso, of course, deserve some plaudits, but Cameroon have the bronze.
Key statistics
The two nations have now met 12 times across all competitions, with the Indomitable Lions winning on six occasions while Burkina Faso have just one win to their name.
Burkina Faso were the only team at the tournament to find the back of the net in each of their games.
Cameroon are the highest-scoring team at the tournament (14) and failed to score in just one game, against Egypt in the semi-final.
This was Burkina Faso’s third time in a third-place play-off. They defeated Ghana in 2017 and drew 4-4 with Congo in 1998, eventually losing on penalties.
This was also Cameroon’s third time in an AFCON third-place play-off.
They beat Congo 5-2 in 1972, also as host nation, and went down 2-1 to Nigeria in 1992.
What’s next?
Attention now turns to the greatest international stage of all with Cameroon facing a two-legged tie against Algeria for one of five places reserved for African nations in the World Cup in Qatar.
Those meetings are towards the end of March. Burkina Faso have no matches scheduled for the spring as yet.
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