The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are through to the semi final stage at the on-going TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2021, after the Lions stopped Gambia 2-0 in a quarter final at the Japoma Stadium in Douala.
After a goalless first half, the 5-time AFCON winners Cameroon returned charged and determined to get the goals. 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 scored a brace early in the second half to guarantee the Indomitable Lions reach the semi final stage of the competition.
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 Indomitable Lions 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.
In the other quarter final game, Egypt beat Morocco, with Mahmoud Trezeguet Hassan scoring the winner. Egypt have also booked their place in the semi-finals of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, with a hard fought 2-1 victory over the Moroccans at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo.
Captain Mohamed Salah and substitute Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet scored for the Pharaohs who went behind after Boufal converted an early penalty for the Atlas Lions.
The second half saw a much more ambitious Egyptian side with the introduction of Trezequet helping the Pharaohs with more presence in the Moroccan box.
Salah equalised for Egypt with a close range tap in after Bounou had stopped Abdelmoneim’s diving header 12 minutes after the restart.
The two giants headed to extra time to settle for the quarter final with Trezequet scoring the winner with a tap in from Salah’s cross.
The Pharaohs will now play hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals in Yaounde.
In the last quarter final match of the 2021 Africa Cup of nations saw Senegal also beating Equatorial Guinea to qualify for semifinal.
The Teranga Lions of Senegal also booked a place in the semi-final stage, after they defeated Equatorial Guinea 3-1 at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Famara Diedhiou, Cheikhou Kouyaté and Ismaïla Sarr scored the goals for Senegal, while Jannick Buyla Sam scored for the Nzalang Nacional of Equatorial Guinea.
Senegal started the match on a fine note with Sadio Mane, Nampalys Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly all keeping the Equatorial Guinea defenders busy. But the Nzalanga Nacional team kept themselves in the game with good defending and few attacks upfront.
After 28 minutes Famara Diedhiou gave Senegal the lead when he capitalized on a well placed Sadio Mane cross to score past Equatorial Guinea’s goalkeeper Jesus Lazaro Owono.
After missing the target seven minutes earlier, Diedhiou this time outpaced two Equatorial Guinea defenders and made no mistake giving Senegal the lead.
The Lions of Teranga continued to push forward as the Equatorial Guinea team also tried to close out the attacks.
Equatorial Guinea’s got their best chance after 45 minutes with Pablo Ganet’s shot parried back into play by Senegal’s goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
In the second half the Nzalang Nacional of Equatorial Guinea players thought they had got a penalty after 50 minutes, but it was not awarded after consultation with the VAR.
But coach Juan Micha’s team did not give up and pushed forward in search of goals. Their efforts paid off after 57 minutes when Jannick Buyla Sam leveled matters after some good inter passing.
After 68 minutes, Senegal substitute Cheikhou Kouyaté put his team back into the lead with a flick past the Equatorial guinea goalkeeper. Kouyaté who had replaced Pape Gueye after 65 minutes capitalized on a poor clearance by defender Carlos Akapo Martinez flicked the ball past advancing goalkeeper Owono Ngua.
A substitute for Senegal Ismaïla Sarr scored the third goal with a tap-in from close range after 79 minutes. Mane ran on the left flank and crossed in the box for Sarr to tap-in to make it 3-1.
The Teranga Lions of Senegal will now face Burkina Faso in the semi-final stage on February 2nd.
Ten-man Burkina Faso beat Tunisia to book the semifinals spot, with Dango Ouattara’s goal on the stroke of halftime being enough for Burkina Faso to beat Tunisia 1-0 and progress to the semifinals of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021.
Senegal who have never lifted the AFCON trophy have only finished runners-up in 2002 and 2019.
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