Defending champion Ivory Coast and five-time winner Cameroon drew 1-1 after a mighty tussle at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo might have won the late game with the last kick, only to be thwarted by Ivorian defender Odilon Kossounou, who threw himself in front of the ball and received its full force between his legs.
Neither team backed down. Cameroon’s performance showed the team is united under new coach David Pagou, after predecessor Marc Brys was fired weeks before the tournament as federation president Samuel Eto’o brought their public dispute to a conclusion with a list of grievances against the Belgian coach.
The Cameroon players danced their way into the stadium in Marrakech, where TV cameras showed Barcelona defender Jules Koundé and Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni — both French internationals — sitting side by side to watch the game, with France superstar Kylian Mbappé also in attendance.
They had to wait till the 51st minute for Amad to break the deadlock with his second goal in two games for Ivory Coast, a sweet strike curled inside the post.
Cameroon replied five minutes later when Junior Tchamadeu’s shot took a deflection from Ivorian defender Ghislain Konan to loop over the goalkeeper. It was deemed an own goal from the left-back.
Both teams, on four points in Group F, can be confident of reaching the last 16. The top two in each group and the four best third-place teams progress.
There were some moments of silence before the game for former Ivory Coast coach Jean-Louis Gasset, who died last week.
