In a highly-anticipated match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023, Guinea and Cameroon faced off against each other in the second Group C game at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium, in what turned out to be an evenly-contested encounter.
Guinea started the game brightly and took an early lead through Mohamed Bayo, who expertly finished a loose ball inside the penalty box, beyond the reach of Cameroonian goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa.
This put the five-time champions, Cameroon, on the back foot, and they struggled to create clear-cut chances in the first half.
However, Guinea’s captain, Francois Kamano, was shown a red card in the added time of the first half, after he committed a foul on Cameroonian midfielder Olivier Ntcham.
The situation was reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee, and an initial yellow card was changed to a red card by the referee, Mutaz Ibrahim.
Cameroon, buoyed by the numerical advantage, came out strongly in the second half and equalised through Frank Magri, who showed his aerial prowess to head home a free-kick, to make it 1-1.
Both teams then had chances to score the winner, but it was Cameroon who came closest, as their striker Vincent Aboubakar hit the post in the dying minutes of the game.
With the draw, Cameroon and Guinea are on one point apiece.
Cameroon will be looking to secure their first win of the tournament when they face defending champions, Senegal, on Friday, January 19, at the same venue.
