Cameroon, the hosts of this year’s PNA, were very close to the final of this tournament. In the semi-final, however, the Cameroonians lost to Egypt on penalties. Burkina Faso, in turn, lost 1: 3.
The PNA hosts started disastrously. They conceded two goals before the break and were losing 0: 2. The first goal for Burkina Faso was scored by Steeve Yago and the second just before the end of the first half … Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana. The goalkeeper, who will be the Inter Milan pickup next season, ridiculously threw himself a spade into the goal after Issa Kabore’s center.
When, right after the break, Burkina Faso’s advantage was further increased by Djibril Ouattara, it seemed that this meeting and the fate of the bronze medals had already been decided. And yet it was not so.
The result of 3-0 for Burkina Faso remained until the 71st minute, then the hosts began a desperate pursuit of their rival and the podium. First Stephane Bahoken scored a goal after the confusion after a set piece.
At the very end, however, the hero was Vincent Aboubakar, who scored two goals between the 85th and 88th minutes, leading to a draw. The seasoned striker, currently playing for Al-Nasr, first headed the net after a corner kick, then took advantage of Burkina Faso Ouattara’s fatal misunderstanding with the Ouedrago goalkeeper and tucked the ball into an empty goal net.
This gave Cameroon a penalty shootout, although the 3: 3 score was not without controversy. Aboubakar gently pushed Ouattara and he collided with the goalkeeper catching the ball. Even though Ouedraogo was lifted on a stretcher after the collision, the referees acknowledged the goal and base time ended in a draw.
The Cameroonians did not waste their chances in the penalty shootout. They used all eleven while the Burkina Faso team made a mistake by Ibrahim Toure. His shot was saved by the first-half antihero -. Cameroon won in penalties 5: 3 and the PNA hosts became the third team of the tournament.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
