The Guinean national team showed tremendous heart and fight to hold heavily favored Cameroon to a 1-1 draw in their Africa Cup of Nations match on Monday, causing another surprise in the 2023 edition of the competition.
The Syli National shocked the five-time champions by taking an early lead through Mohamed Bayo in the 10th minute. Bayo pounced on the rebound after his initial shot was parried by the Indomitable Lions keeper Fabrice Ondoa.
But the underdogs suffered a major setback just before halftime when captain Francois Kamano was sent off with a red card. The referee initially showed Kamano a yellow for a foul on Frank Magri, but changed it to red after checking the VAR monitor and seeing Kamano stamp on Magri’s heel.
Cameroon capitalized on their man advantage early in the second half as Magri equalized with a header in the 51st minute after a pinpoint cross from Georges-Kevin Nkoudou. However, resilient defending and heroic goalkeeping from Ibrahima Kone kept the Indomitable Lions at bay for the remainder of the match.
Kone made a remarkable point-blank stop on Karl Toko Ekambi’s shot late in the game to preserve the draw. There were also water breaks in each half to help the players deal with 36 degree Celsius heat.
Guinea’s courageous performance came on the heels of other AFCON surprises over the weekend. Cape Verde defeated Ghana, Mozambique held Egypt scoreless, and Equatorial Guinea earned a draw against Nigeria.
The result leaves both Cameroon and Guinea still in contention to advance from Group C. Earlier on Monday, defending champions Senegal cruised past Gambia 3-0 to take the group lead.
Cameroon were without star goalkeeper Andre Onana who delayed his arrival to play for Manchester United over the weekend. Coach Rigobert Song instead relied on backup Ondoa, who was left stranded on Bayo’s opening goal.
Guinea were missing striker Serhou Guirassy to a knee problem, but Bayo ably filled the void with his early strike.
Both teams remain level on points heading into their next matches against group favorites Senegal and Gambia respectively. But resilient Guinea have proven they have the tenacity to compete with Africa’s elite.
