Cameroon and Gabon will be out to book their places in the knockout stages of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations when they do battle at the Stade de l’Amitié in Libreville this evening. Hosts Gabon have yet to win a game at this year’s showpiece with the Panthers held to successive 1-1 draws.
Following a shock stalemate against AFCON newbies Guinea-Bissau in the opening game of the tournament, Gabon failed to take their chances as they were held to the same scoreline by 2013 finalists Burkina Faso. Now with arguably their biggest test still to come, head coach José Antonio Camacho will be hoping that his team can finally find their rhythm with pressure mounting on the Spaniard.
Gabon have been dealt a further blow with news that Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina has been ruled out of action for the rest of the tournament, subsequently placing further pressure on the likes of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sunderland midfielder Didier N’Dong.
“Failing to beat Burkina Faso was frustrating because we now have to wait for outcome of the Cameroon game. We had several chances but we did not convert them though the players gave their best and attacked piling pressure on Burkina Faso,” Camacho told supersport.com.
“We had hoped for a win but it did not come. I know the frustrations from our fans but we hope to atone despite having a tough fixture against Cameroon.”
He continued: “I am optimistic we will qualify for the quarterfinals even though a lot of pundits have written us off after the draw. As a coach I have to keep on encouraging and motivating my players to keep the focus and work hard on the pitch.”
Cameroon head into the fixture top of Group A with four points – all four teams can still book their place in the knockout stages with Guinea-Bissau sitting on a single point.
The Indomitable Lions were held to a 1-1 draw by Burkina Faso in their opening game before the four-time champions bounced back from an early setback to beat Guinea Bissau 2-1 with goals from Sébastien Siani and Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui securing all three points for the Hugo Broos’ coached team.
“Being Cameroon, you’re forced to fight until the end and despite the fact we went a goal down, the team reacted well and earned an important win that was simply an amazing comeback,” Broos told supersport.com.
