Afcon 2021: Cameroon vs Comoros Preview - Kick-off time, TV channel, squad news

Hosts Cameroon will take on debutants Comoros in their Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 fixture at Olembe Stadium, in Yaounde on Monday.

The Indomitable Lions reached the knockout stage after accumulating seven points from a tough Group A. They opened their campaign with a 2-1 win against Burkina Faso, thrashed Ethiopia 4-1 before battling out a 1-1 draw against Cape Verde.

On the other hand, Comoros, who qualified for their first-ever Afcon in Cameroon, reached the Round of 16 as one of the highest-ranked third-placed teams, after finishing third in Group C with three points.

The Blue Sharks kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Gabon, suffered a 2-0 defeat against Morocco before they recovered to beat Ghana’s Black Stars 3-2 in their final group phase fixture.

TV Channel, Live Score & How To Watch

Squads & Team News

The Indomitable Lions, who are taking part in the knockout stage for the third time in a row, have not reported any injury concerns nor Covid-19 related issues.

Despite going into the fixture as favourites, Cameroon coach Toni Conceicao has warned his players to have respect for Comoros “even if they are playing their first Afcon.”

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“We must respect our opponent of the day even if they are playing their first Afcon,” Conceicao said as quoted by CafOnline.

“We are calmly preparing our meeting and our objective remains clear, the February 6th final.

“We know that we are going against a good team from Comoros. We have studied our opponent who remains difficult. It is true that it is not a team with a big name, but they have very good players.”

Cameroon will bank on striker Vincent Aboubakar, who was named the best player from the group stage, after his five goals.

Meanwhile, Comoros will have to put an outfielder in goal as all three of their recognised shot-stoppers are unavailable.

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The Blue Sharks’ Moyadh Ousseini and Ali Ahamada, have tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss Monday’s match, while first-choice Salim Ben Boina is out injured.

On top of that, 12 of their squad members have been ruled out through Covid-19, including their head coach Amir Abdou. Speaking ahead of the game, goalkeeper trainer Daniel Padovani said they are facing a tough challenge but will strive to give their best.

“We played our all-out during the group stage and that's what allowed us to progress to the Round of 16,” Padovani said as quoted by CafOnline.

“We are experiencing an exceptional situation with several players and staff members affected by Covid-19. We must manage this situation and find the necessary solutions.

“We will play with the same values, with our usual state of mind.”

Match Preview

In the history of the competition, this will be the first encounter between Cameroon and Comoros, and the third time the tournament hosts will play a debutant in a knock-out round match.

The first time the hosts came up against debutant was in 1957 when Egypt battled Sudan in the semi-finals and the second was in 1962 when Ethiopia faced Tunisia, also in the semis.

Cameroon have lost just one match at Afcon since the beginning of the 2017 edition (P13 W6 D6 L1) – losing 3-2 against Nigeria in their Round of 16 match in 2019.

Comoros, along with the Gambia, could become the fourth team in the 21st century to reach at least the quarter-finals in their first participation at the Afcon, after Equatorial Guinea (2012), Cape Verde (2013), and Madagascar (2019).

Cameroon have reached at least the quarter-finals in eight of their last 10 Afcon, although they have failed to do so in two of their previous three editions (group stage in 2015 and Round of 16 in 2019).

Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Aboubakar, who is the tournament’s top scorer so far with (five goals), could become the first player to score more than five in a single edition of the Afcon since Egypt’s Hossam Hassan and South Africa’s Benni McCarthy (both seven) in 1998.