The first round of 16 of a CAN for the Comoros has definitely gone down in history.
For this small nation in the Indian Ocean, neighboring the French department of Mayotte, Monday's meeting against the Cameroonian ogre looked like a long ordeal (2-1).
An ordeal that began before the match when the team got stuck in traffic jams in Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital.
In a video, we see the players strapping their ankles on the bus.
In addition to the incredible story where the Comoros could not field a professional goalkeeper, despite the three present in their list, they played for 83 minutes in numerical inferiority after the expulsion of their captain Abdou (7th) for walking on Ngamaleu's ankle.
Before the meeting, the real psychodrama revolved around the imbroglio on the presence of a professional goalkeeper or not in the selection of the Comoros. If there was no dispute over the absence for injury of Salim Ben Boina, who plays as an amateur at Endoume Marseille (N 3, 5th division), hit in the arm against Ghana. The controversy grew concerning not Moyadh Ousseini, who tested positive for Covid-19, but the absence of Ali Ahamada. The latter had been positive for the coronavirus before becoming negative again the morning of the match. Like Tunisia, which obtained a waiver from CAF for Khazri, which came into play Sunday in the victory against Nigeria (1-0) less than five days after a positive Covid test, the Comorians thought that they could do the same.
But CAF proved intractable because of a new regulation.
The continental authorities have published a directive which requires a positive player to remain isolated for five days.
“Tested positive on January 22, the Comorian player must wait five days before taking the post-Covid-19 assessment and returning to the match after approval by the medical commission”, explains a CAF spokesperson.
No positive control among Cameroonians
For the 132nd nation in the world, the task promised to be almost impossible. To compensate for the absence of their three goalkeepers, Jean-Daniel Padovani, the goalkeeper coach, has appointed Chaker Alhadhur, the defender of AC Ajaccio (Ligue 2). The 30-year-old player, who has spent his entire career in France after wearing the colors of Nantes, Bayonne, Caen and Châteauroux, will long remember this January 24, 2022. With three short minutes on the clock in Ligue 2 this season, Alhadhur took the gloves to be the last bastion of the Comoros.
On the first shot on target from Toko Ekambi, the Ajaccien lost (1-0, 29th).
Like a real goalkeeper, from the height of his 1.72m, Alhadhur deflects a header from Ngamaleu (48th) with his foot then makes a double save in front of Aboubakar and Ngamaleu (53rd).
On the other hand, he can do nothing in front of Aboubakar (2-0, 70th).
Before M'Changama saves the honor with a 30m free kick (2-1, 81st) and shakes the Cameroonians to the end.
Read alsoAll the teams hit by the Covid except Cameroon: why the controversy swells at CAN 2022
For Cameroon, the host country, which will face the surprising Gambia in the quarterfinals on Saturday, victorious over Guinea (1-0) a little earlier in the day, the royal road to the title opens up.
More surprisingly, Cameroon is the only one of the 24 teams qualified for this CAN not to have had players affected by Covid-19.
Another controversy commented on by the coach of the Comoros, Amir Abdou, placed in isolation, being positive for Covid but having no symptoms: “Frankly, do they need that against us?
What's funny is that while doing the tests, he also took pictures and with a little smile, that smile that tells you:
something is going on
.
I have already experienced it.
The PCR can become an additional weapon for a country or a club.
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