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33 min: Epassy, nan Cameroon goalkeeper, is getting immoderate cloth stuck up his chemoreceptor aft headbutting his ain defender astatine a corner. It seems to person stemmed nan travel of blood.
31 min: Amad gives Yongwa nan tally astir connected nan Côte d’Ivoire correct and sends nan shot into nan area. Kessié prods it connected to Seko Fofana but his changeable is deflected over.
30 min: Kessié tries to spray a shot retired wide pinch nan extracurricular of his footwear but it’s easy intercepted. Amad, nan intended target, looks little than impressed.
28 min: Mbeumo is getting measurement excessively overmuch space. He floats a transverse successful towards Kofane and it’s cleared down for a area that comes to nothing. Good spell, this, for Cameroon.
26 min: Mbeumo’s area is kept up by a mates of Cameroon players earlier it comes retired to Baleba, whose thorax down and changeable is spectacularly powerful but spectacularly disconnected target.
25 min: Mbeumo looks successful nan mood. He wriggles down nan Cameroon correct and forces a corner.
23 min: Looked for illustration Yahia Fofana sewage a fingertip connected that to divert it connected to nan bar. Excellent save. Amad is penalised wrong his ain half for a barge connected Namaso.
21 min: Off nan bar! Mbeumo finds immoderate abstraction to move and sets Tchamadeu down nan correct flank. The wing-back’s transverse is debased towards nan adjacent station and Kofane gets location first and sends nan shot against nan crossbar. So adjacent for Cameroon.
19 min: Cameroon’s stand-in skipper Tolo gets a important flick connected a Côte d’Ivoire transverse to put Kessié disconnected arsenic he went for it astatine nan backmost post.
17 min: A immense roar goes up arsenic nan large surface shows that Kylian Mbappé is successful nan location – wearing an orangish hoodie contempt his Cameroonian ancestry.
16 min: Baleba picks up a yellowish paper for a spot of a lunge connected Fofana connected halfway. It’s mistimed but thing much than that.
14 min: Cameroon are getting a spot braver. They sat backmost for nan first fewer minutes of this 1 but are now putting immoderate unit connected Côte d’Ivoire successful possession. Mbeumo is yet to spot overmuch action.
12 min: Big opportunity for Cameroon! It’s wing-back to wing-back arsenic Stoke’s Tchamadeu picks retired Yongwa astatine nan backmost station but his volley hits nan side-netting. Up nan different end, Kessié sends 1 complete nan barroom for Côte d’Ivoire.
10 min: Côte d’Ivoire put different shot into nan container from a heavy free-kick and there’s a outcry for handball that falls connected deaf ears. Boos and whistles arsenic Cameroon bask a spot of possession successful their ain half.
8 min: Chance for Amad! Diomande jinks wrong aft nan area comes retired and cuts nan shot backmost to Amad connected nan separator of nan punishment area. The Manchester United man tries to crook it wrong nan adjacent station but his effort flies disconnected target.
6 min: Côte d’Ivoire, successful their awesome all-orange strip, put different shot into nan container and Tolo puts it down for a area connected nan stretch.
4 min: A spot of an breathtaking start. Côte d’Ivoire person settled nan quicker.
2 min: Off nan post, I think?! Côte d’Ivoire caput down nan left, Diomande swings a transverse towards nan backmost station and it looks for illustration it glances disconnected nan upright and distant from danger.
Kick-off
There’s a decent crowd successful astatine nan Stade de Marrakech. After a minute’s soundlessness for Jean-Louis Gasset, nan head who took Côte d’Ivoire into nan past Afcon and who died aged 72 connected Friday, Amad Diallo gets america going.
The teams are out. The day’s 4th crippled astatine Afcon is astir to get nether way. Mozambique, Sudan and Algeria were each winners coming … who will subordinate them?
“Hi Billy,” writes Peter Oh. “The magnitude of talent connected show makes maine spell ‘Whoa!’, pinch an added ‘Wooh!’ successful nickname of nan Cameroon bench. I’ve sewage nary thought really this lucifer will go. Will Ivory Coast people Fofana? Will nan Indomitable Lions expertly Epassy retired from nan backmost and make a Baleba retired of nan sceptical Cameroon fan?”
And truthful connected and truthful distant … At slightest it’s not a lineup of footballers pinch Christmas-themed names. I saw Edin Dzeko-rations nan different day. Bleak.
Cameroon: The Indomitable Lions entered this tourney nether nan unreality of managerial/bureaucratic chaos. Samuel Eto’o, nan president of nan Cameroon federation, yet sewage his wish and nan Belgian caput coach Marc Brys was dismissed earlier this month. Brys, appointed by nan Cameroonian sports ministry past twelvemonth against nan wishes of Eto’o, contested nan sacking and picked his ain squad for Afcon.
David Pagou, a coach successful nan Cameroonian home convention and erstwhile adjunct pinch nan nationalist team, is now successful nan dugout. He’s having to do without nan injured Napoli midfielder Frank Anguissa and has near elder figures for illustration Vincent Aboubakar and André Onana retired of his squad. They hit Gabon successful their opener acknowledgment to Karl Etta Eyong’s early goal.
Côte d’Ivoire: The holders won their opening crippled 1-0 acknowledgment to Amad Diallo’s second-half strike. Emerse Faé is having to capable a Sebastian Haller-sized spread up front. The Utrecht striker’s goals helped occurrence Les Éléphants to nan title 2 years agone but he’s not successful Morocco owed to a hamstring injury.
Wilfried Zaha, now playing successful MLS pinch Charlotte, started nan first crippled and now Vakoun Bayo of Udinese gets his chance to lead nan line.
Recap: Already successful Group F today, Mozambique person beaten Gabon 3-2 to declare their first triumph astatine Afcon since 1986 – erstwhile their 42-year-old captain, Elias Pelembe, was a toddler.
In Group E, Sudan person fixed themselves a awesome chance of progressing to nan knockouts pinch a 1-0 triumph against Equatorial Guinea. A Riyad Mahrez punishment intends Algeria presently lead Burkina Faso 1-0 pinch astir 10 minutes to go.
Team news: Amad and Mbeumo start
Côte d’Ivoire XI (4-3-3): Fofana; Doué, Koussounou, N’Dicka, Konan; Kessié, Fofana, Sangaré; Amad, Bayo, Diomande.
Subs: Lafont, Koné, Zohouri, Operi, Agbadou, Gbamin, Diomande, Boly, Oulai, Seri, Touré, Guessand, Krasso, Diakité, Zaha
Charlotte’s Wilfried Zaha drops to nan chair for nan holders, pinch Udinese’s Vakoun Issouf Bayo fixed a commencement up front.
Cameroon XI (3-5-2): Epassy; Malone, Kotto, Tolo; Tchamadeu, Avom, Baleba, Namaso, Yongwa; Mbeumo, Kofane
Subs: Ngapandouetnbu, Omossola, Wooh, Boyomo, Nyamsi, Nagida, Kamdem, Onana, Kemen, Bassagog, Ebimbe, Etta Eyong, Magri, N’Koudou, Soko.
Cameroon’s goalscorer from their opening game, Karl Etta Eyong, is replaced by Bayer Leverkusen’s Christian Kofane up top.
Preamble
Hello and welcome. We’re a week into nan Africa Cup of Nations now and really getting down to business. Tonight, 2 of nan continent’s heavyweights meet successful Marrakech arsenic nan reigning champions, Côte d’Ivoire, return connected Cameroon successful Group F.
Both teams won their opening lucifer 1-0 connected Christmas Eve and, realistically, this is simply a showdown for apical spot successful nan group – though Mozambique will person thing to opportunity aft beating Gabon earlier today. Don’t inquire maine astir permutations but, pinch nan 4 champion third-placed teams besides heading to nan past 16, a tie coming will each but guarantee some teams’ progression to nan knockouts.
Kick-off astatine nan Stade de Marrakech is astatine 8pm (GMT). If you’ve sewage immoderate thoughts connected nan game, aliases immoderate of nan action astatine Afcon today, you tin get successful touch via email.
