Algeria looked to have booked their place
when Ahmed Touba netted with three minutes remaining at the end of extra-time,
but as Cameroon pushed everyone forward for the final play of the game, Toko
Ekambi latched onto a headed pass from Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui to net a most
unlikely winner.
The victory on the away goals rule,
following a 2-2 aggregate draw, seals an eighth World Cup finals appearance for
the Indomitable Lions and follows a 1-0 win for Algeria in the first leg on
Friday that left them heavy favourites to advance.
It seals a disastrous few months for the
north African side who were dumped out of the Africa Cup of Nations finals,
ironically played in Cameroon, in the first round in January as they gave up
the title they won in 2019. But the night was Cameroon’s to celebrate after
Eric Choupo-Moting had given them the lead in the first half, a goal which took
the tie to extra time.
His strike came via a mistake from Algeria
goalkeeper Rais M'Bolhi, who dropped the ball under pressure from his own team
mate at a corner and Choupo-Moting reacted quickest to turn the loose ball into
the net. It was a goal that rocked the hosts, who were unable to find their
usual fluency and snatched at the chances that came their way.
Islam Slimani laid the ball on a plate for
Youcef Belaili, who just had Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana to beat, but fired
wide. Houcine Benayada then forced a good stop from Onana and Slimani netted
from the rebound, but the latter was correctly ruled offside.
Riyad Mahrez saw his shot saved, and from
the resultant corner Abdelkader Bedrane headed over as the chances kept on
coming for the home side. Then came a moment of some controversy. Slimani
thought he had headed Algeria into an extra-time lead, but the goal was ruled
out for handball after a review by the Video Assistant Referee.
Touba looked to have won the tie for the
home side though with his free header at the back post from a corner, but the
last word fell to Toko Ekambi as Cameroon grabbed a memorable victory.
0 comments:
Post a Comment