AFCON 2021: Cameroon face Covid-19 depleted Comoros who have no goalkeeper for the game

The African Cup of Nations round of 16 started in style on Sunday evening, Burkina Faso qualified for the quarters after seeing off Gabon via post-match penalties, and Tunisia served us a huge surprise when they knocked out favorites Nigeria.

The knock out matches continue on Monday with two more matches lined up. Guinea will play Gambia while hosts Cameroon will take on a depleted Comoros side.

Guinea vs Gambia

1976 finalists Guinea will be looking to qualify for the quarters after exiting the previous edition in the round of 16. Guinea were second in group B and face a Gambia side that finished second in group F. Gambia are debuting that AFCON and already they are proving to be tough side for opponents.

Guinea will be without talisman and captain Naby Keita who is suspended accumulating yellow cards.

Ahead of the match that will be played at the Kouekong Stadium, Bafoussam from 7 pm, coach Kaba Diawara has urged his side to be careful against the debutants.

“We have reached an important stage and I told my players we have to treat the game as a final. In 2019 we were knocked out on the same stage, but we want it better this time round. We have to be very careful approaching the game against a very good Gambia team. What we want is to have the best start against Gambia as we seek the important win that will elevate us to the quarterfinals,” he said.

Gambia coach, Tom Saintfiet admits that Gambia are favorites heading into the game but says they are motivated to earn a quarter final berth.

“Guinea are the favorites, but that actually gives us a lot of motivation because we are in the knockout stages in our first appearance. We are not afraid as we have been together with the players for over three years, meaning we have cohesion and great team spirit. Kaba Diawara was my player in Qatar. We can employ different styles and approaches in different match situations. We want nothing short of a win and Guinea must be prepared for a proper duel,” he stated.

Cameroon vs Comoros

Hosts Cameroon will take on another debuting side, Comoros. Comoros have their own problems and will have to field an outfield problem in goal. Salim Ben Boina was injured in the win over Ghana, while understudy Ali Ahamada and third-choice keeper Moyadh Ousseini have tested positive for Covid-19.

 “We have already chosen an outfield player who will start as a goalkeeper. He is a player who, during training, showed that he could play as a goalkeeper,’ Comoros goalkeeping coach Jean-Daniel Padovani said.

Cameroon coach Toni Conceicao maintains that they have to remain professional against the debutants.

“We must respect our opponent of the day even if they are playing their first AFCON. We are calmly preparing our meeting and our objective remains clear, the February 6th final. We know that we are going against a good team from Comoros. We have studied our opponent who remains difficult. It is true that it is not a team with a big name, but they have very good players," he said.

The match starts at 10PM.