AFCON offered a fantastic turn in the bronze medal match between Cameroon and Burkina Faso

The battle for third place at the African Championship between host Cameroon and Burkina Faso was decided in a penalty shootout. Burkina Faso led 3:0 until the 72nd minute, but the bronze was eventually enjoyed by the host country after a fantastic turnaround.

The 2021 African Championship in Cameroon did not produce many goals at first, only in the later knockout stages did the teams seem to shoot each other out. This is evidenced by the battle for third place, in which 6 goals fell during regulation time.

Burkina Faso made a fantastic breakthrough. In the 24th minute, Yago scored, and in the 43rd minute, goalkeeper Onana scored an own goal when he knocked a centre behind his back. Just after the start of the second half in the 49th minute, Ouattara increased it to 3: 0.

It looked like the underdog would surprise the favourite and unexpectedly win the bronze medals. However, Cameroon did not want to disappoint in front of their home fans. In the 72nd minute, Bahoken gave hope, reducing the score to 1:3.

The match was quickly coming to an end. However, Vincent Aboubakar, the tournament’s top scorer, had his say in the 85th and 87th minutes with his seventh and eighth goals to level the match at 3: 3. The match was then extended.

The game was decided by a penalty shootout. Cameroon won the penalty shootout 5: 3 and thus managed to turn the unfavourable situation in its favour. After a fantastic turnaround, the bronze is well deserved.

This was the ninth medal Cameroon has won at the African championship. The country has five gold medals, two silver and now two bronze in its collection.

In the finals, the gold medals will be shared between the Senegalese team, which overcame Burkina Faso in the semi-finals, and the Egyptian team, which eliminated the hosts Cameroon at the gates of the finals.

Source: Livesport