Curious situation at the Africa Cup: a defender had to go to goal, no goalkeeper was available

There was another curiosity at the Africa Cup. The Comoros national team had to deal with the unpleasant situation of having no goalkeeper available. One of the field players had to play between the three sticks.

The representatives of the archipelago, which currently has less than one million inhabitants, are definitely one of the biggest surprises of the Africa Cup.

In the group stage, the Comoros managed to sensationally defeat a strong Ghana, for which Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey also played. The 3-2 win ensured the Comoros’ participation in the knockout phase of the AFCON, while a strong Ghana went home.

Coronavirus problems and an emergency goalkeeper

The Comoros national team found themselves in a precarious situation after their first goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina was injured. That shouldn’t have been such a problem for the team, except that both backup goalkeepers found themselves in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus.

As a result, Komor left back Chaker Alhadhur had to start in goal in the eight-final match against Cameroon. Of course, the custodians were not prepared for this curious eventuality and so the emergency goalkeeper came on with only a number from the duct tape.

alhadhur, 30, is a member of the squad of French second league club AC Ajaccio. However, the Comoros left back has only managed to score 3 minutes in Ligue 2 this season.

Defender Nadjim Abdou certainly didn’t make an already difficult situation for Comoros any easier when he was sent off in the seventh minute of the match.

Emergency goalkeeper Chaker Alhadhur (normally a left back) was quite solid in goal. He notched 4 saves and made no major mistakes.

In the end, the Comoros lost to Cameroon 1: 2 in what could be said to be a relatively even game. The island team even had more shots on target than their opponents.

Source: CNN Sports, Bielsista