GAMBIA are looking to upset the odds against hosts Cameroon in the AFCON quarter-final.The Gambians have already stunned Tunisia and beaten Guinea to get to this stage but face an even tougher test today.
However, they will take heart from the fight Comoros put up against the Indomitable Lions in the round of 16.
Playing with no goalkeeper and ten men for 85 minutes, the Comorans were only beaten 2-1 by a much fancied Cameroon side.
Kick-off time: 4pm
TV channel: Sky Sports Premier League/BBC Two
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Gambia 0-0 Cameroon
5. Cameroonian talisman Vincent Aboubakar has barely had a sniff in these opening minutes.
The Scorpions are doing well to double up on him because they are aware that the Lions captain is the dangerman in this gifted side.
Gambia 0-0 Cameroon
2. The Gambians are showing the hosts that they aren’t moved by the magnitude of this fixture as it is them who are controlling early possession here.
However, Cameroon seem to be just feeling out their opponent and trying to not make any mistakes.
Gambia 0-0 Cameroon
1. Many are predicting the Indomitable Lions to progress to the semi-finals once the dust has settled due to Cameroon having a better team on paper and Gambia being the lowest ranked nation left in the tournament at 150.
However, the Scorpions have been labelled as the giant killers of the competition so there is every chance that we could see another shock defeat today.
Kick-off – Gambia vs Cameroon
Referee Pacifique Ndabihawenimana has blown his whistle and we have lift off!
The first quarter-finals of this season’s AFCON is under-way and due to the hosts being involved, the atmosphere is absolutely electric.
A moments silence in Japoma
The players all surround the centre circle and give a moments silence for the tragic events which happened at Stade Olembe earlier on this week.
Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody who is grieving at this awful time.
Heading out of the tunnel
Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar and Gambian skipper Pa Modou Jagne are both leading their teams out onto the field where they are being welcome by 50,000 loud fans who are singing at the top of their lungs.
We are minutes away from the opening whistle people, this is going to be a good spectacle.
Only 15 minutes to go!
The fans are really going for it as we enter the final 15 minutes before kick-off but someone clearly didn’t get the memo for the dress code.
Cameroon’s good run of form
Toni Conceicao’s side have been on phenomenal form leading up to the AFCON and during the tournament itself.
The Indomitable Lions are undefeated in their last eight matches since the 2-1 defeat back in September 2021 to Ivory Coast who they would eventually get revenge on a couple of months later.
In addition to that, the Cameroonians haven’t struggled to find the back of the net either. They have scored twice or more on five separate occasions in this current run.
On the flip side, the 5x AFCON winners concede often too. Cameroon are yet to keep a clean sheet in this tournament which includes allowing ten-men Comoros who had an outfield player in goal to score against them.
It admittedly was an absolute screamer though.
Gambia’s results coming into this
The Scorpions have undoubtedly been pleasing on the eye to watch in this editions Africa Cup of Nations which is something that not many would have expected.
Leading up to AFCON, Gambia’s results were very indifferent because in eight games, the Scorpions had secured four victories but they had also lost four too so it was difficult to predict how this tournament would go for them.
Especially as one of those loses included a 1-0 defeat to a country who had only won their first game of international football in 2018, Kosovo.
However, Gambia’s dramatic victory in the previous round over Guinea stretched their unbeaten run at AFCON to four on the spin; a very impressive statistic considering this is their first time featuring in Africa’s biggest cup competition.
The potential semi-final opponent
Both nations will start to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel because victory at this stage puts them into the last four of the competition.
However, the potential opponents each nation could face in the semi-finals have nine AFCON titles between them, Egtpt and Morocco so whoever manages to progress to the next round, will certainly have their hands full.
On the other side of the tournament, the winners of Burkina Faso vs Tunisia will encounter the victors of Senegal vs Equatorial Guinea.
Credit: @CAF_Online
Saintfiet speaks to the media
Gambian head coach Tom Saintfiet made a statement to the world that his side have no intentions of letting their Africa Cup of Nations dream fade away.
The Belgian is chuffed to have made it this far in the competition but Saintfiet feels as if the Scorpions have what it takes to pull off another giant slaying even though Cameroon will be their toughest opponents yet.
It’s already fantastic to be in the African top eight, but when you’re there it’s because you deserve it.
We do not want our dream to end even if it is Cameroon, a great team and in addition, it is the host country.
We worked well for three and a half year, we created a group that knows our strategy and that pulls in the same direction.
Everyone understands our way of working; the players, the staff, the Federation and the supporters. I’m really proud.Tom SaintfietCAFOnline.com
How Gambia reached this far
Gambia’s debut campaign in AFCON has produced nothing but drama since match-day one, and it began with a 1-0 win over Mauritania who are 47 places above them in the FIFA Rankings.
Tom Saintfiet’s men then hung in for a 1-1 draw by the skin of their teeth with Mali having equalised via a 90th minute penalty.
And the Scorpions repeated this same trick against ten-men Tunisia in one of the shocks of the competition when Ablie Jallow converted his spot-kick deep into stoppage time.
However the most entertainment came in Gambia’s round of 16 clash with Guinea. It had a disallowed goal, a penalty appeal, and two red cards but Mussa Barrow’s composed finish became the all-important statistic which eventually sent the AFCON newbies through.
Cameroon route to the quarters
The 5x AFCON winners opened up the tournament with a victory to the delight of the home fans but they needed two perfectly dispatched penalties from Vincent Aboubakar to scrape a 2-1 win against Burkina Faso.
However, Cameroon’s second group stage clash with Ethiopia was much more convincing despite going behind inside the first four minutes. Another brace from their skipper alongside a double for Karl Toko Ekambi helped the hosts ease to a 4-1 triumph.
With knock-out qualification already secured, Cameroon boss Toni Conceicao decided to rest some heavy hitters but he left Aboubakar on the field to add to his tally and the marksman didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately Cape Verde ruined the day by equalising early on in the second half.
But the party resumed after the full time whistle in Cameroon’s last 16 encounter with Comoros when the hosts pipped their opponents to a quarter-finals spot in what turned out to be a surprisingly tight affair.
The pride keep on roaring
Fun fact – A pack of lions is called a pride and here you can see the supporters in Stade Japoma preparing to cheer on their own set of Lions more commonly known as Cameroon.
Cameroon subs to call on
1 Komguep Jean, 16 Davis, 17 Mbaizoi, 22 Jerome, 6 Bitolo Ambroise, 27 Siliki James, 28 Yvan, 11 Christian, 13 Choupo-Moting, 20 Malong, 15 Njie
Cameroon team sheet is out – Choupo-Moting dropped to the bench but Aboubakar starts!
Toni Conceicao has opted to alter his attacking duo today by throwing Oum Gouet Samuel in from the start instead of Eric Choupo-Moting.
The Bayern Munich forward will have to do what he does best which is coming off the bench to be a fire weapon if things aren’t going as planned.
(4-4-2): 24 Onana; 19 Fai Collins, 21 Castaletto, 5 Ngadeu, 25 Nouho; 3 Moumi, 18 Hongla, 8 Anguissa, 12 Toko Ekambi; 14 Gouet Samuel, 10 Aboubakar
Credit: @FecafootOfficie
Gambia players on the bench
1 Jobe, 4 Ngum, 8 Ebrima Darboe, 9 Ceesay, 11 Modou Barrow, 15 Sohna, 16 Mbye, 17 Bubacarr Jobe, 19 Ebrima Colley, 24 Dembo Darboe, 25 Sanneh, 28 Adams
Gambia have revealed their line-up
Tom Saintfiet has had a triple boost with Noah Sonko, Saidy Janko and Ibou Touray all returning to the side having recovered from food poisoning.
However, Albie Jallow has not been able to shake off his knock which means in steps Muhamed Badomosi as a replacement.
(4-3-3): 18 Gaye; 21 Saidy Janko, 12 Gomez, 5 Omar Colley, 13 Modou-Jagne; 2 Bobb, 6 Marreh, 3 23 Badamosi; 14 Noah Sanko, 11 Touray, 10 Musa Barrow
Credit: @TheGambiaFF
An update on the Gambia squad
One goes out and one comes in for Gambian gaffer Tom Saintfiet because Yusupha Njie is set to serve his suspension have picked up two yellow cards in the 1-0 triumph over Guinea but Noah Sonko Sundberg who missed that round of 16 victory with a slight knock, is in contention for an early return.
Albie Jallow was a doubt for the encounter this afternoon when the midfielder hobbled off the field early last Monday with a foot injury but Saintfiet confirmed in his pre-match press conferment that everyone is fit and raring to go.
The Belgian said: “We want to win this quarter-final. We know it won’t be easy. Against Cameroon, all the players are available, it can help to get a good result. Cameroon are big favourites, we have to relax and play our football.”
Inside the Cameroon treatment room
Toni Conceicao will be one relieved man due to the fact that the Cameroon boss has no injuries or suspensions to worry about heading into this quarter-final clash.
This means that the Portuguese has the ability to go with his strongest side possible especially as Concicao mentioned that he is wary of Gambia’s giant killing spree label.
The Cameroon gaffer stated that: “We have seen teams ranked as underdogs stand up to high calibre countries and my players have been warned.”
Eric Choupo-Mouting current stats
The Bayern Munich back-up striker is yet to score at AFCON this season and hasn’t netted many for his club either but in Choupo-Moting’s defence, the Cameroonian isn’t expected to get many minutes of football with Robert Lewandowski in front of him.
I doubt many would in all honesty.
Putting the critics on mout
If ever there was a footballer who can be proud of their career once they decide to hang up their boots its Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
The 32-year-old went from playing in a relegated Stoke City side during the 2017-18 campaign to representing French giants Paris Saint-German the following season in a cheap back-up striker deal struck by Thomas Tuchel.
However, Choupo-Moting figured in more games than expected and when called upon, the Cameroonian provided. Most notably in the Champions League when he sent PSG to their first ever semi-finals in club’s biggest European competition.
Bayern Munich was aware of how functional Choupo-Moting’s role in the squad is which led to the experienced striker being scooped up by the 30x Bundesliga champions once his contract in Paris was up and is currently where the 6’3 forward enjoys his football.
So having won titles all across Europe and securing a Champions League medal, Choupo-Moting has a huge chance to finally get his hands on an AFCON winners medal but Cameroon still have quite a few obstacles to overcome.
Vincent is bak in charge
Cameroonian skipper Vincent Aboubakar is not only leading his side on the pitch but he is currently sitting at the top of the goal scoring tree in this edition’s Africa Cup of Nation.
The 30-year-old had already netted five goals by the end of the group stages and Aboubakar added one more to the collection in the 2-1 win over Comoros last Monday which incidentally made him the first Cameroon international to score in four straight matches breaking Barcelona legend Samuel Eto’o’s record.
No player has scored more than nine goals in a single campaign which is a record set by Democratic Republic of Congo forward Ndaye Mulamba way back in 1974.
With Aboubakar’s current tally on six and the hosts expected to at least make it to the semi-final, the Cameroonian marksman won’t get a better chance to put himself in the history books.
Ready for drama in Douala
Stade Japoma is the venue for today’s quarter-final match-up between the hosts Cameroon and the AFCON debutants Gambia which is fitting considering the history behind it.
The stadium is located in one of the two largest cities in Cameroon and having had a recent reconstruction in 2019, Stade Japoma now has a seated capacity of 50,000 enabling 50,000 fans to shout at the top of their lungs.
Isn’t she beautiful?
Credit: @CAF_Online
Credit: @CAF_Online
Gambia vs Cameroon head to head
There has only ever been two matches played between Cameroon and Gambia since data was recorded and the Indomitable Lions have won on both occasions.
The first was a tight affair in September 2015 where the 5x AFCON winners scraped a 1-0 victory on Gambia’s home turf of Bakau.
And the second fixture was the comfortable 2-0 win detailed in the previous post.
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