Cameroon Open With 2-1 Win Over Burkina Faso

The Indomitable Lions Came From Behind To Get A 2-1 Win.

Vincent Aboubakar Scored Twice From The Spot.

VAR Makes Key Decisions In Olembe.

Cameroon kickstarted their AFCON campaign with an important victory over Burkina Faso. The Indomitable Lions had to do it the hard way as they came back from being a goal down to claim all three points in Olembe.

Burkina Faso made life really hard for Cameroon early in the first half. Cameroon controlled much of the possession, but couldn’t create much because of the defensive structure of Burkina Faso.

READ ALSO – Youth Watch – 5 Exciting Youngsters To Watch At AFCON 2022

The Stallions stayed compact defensively for much of the first half. Their game plan was to frustrate Cameroon and rely on Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore on the counter.

It was the former Chelsea youngster that created the first goal for Burkina Faso. After two efforts on goal from Burkina Faso, Traore received the ball on the right-hand side and crossed the ball beautifully into the box for Gustavo Sangare to volley home.

However, two silly fouls in the box resulted in two penalties and within 7 minutes. Vincent Aboubakar scored twice from the spot to ensure Cameroon go into halftime ahead.

The second half saw half chances for Burkina Faso, and counter-attacks from Cameroon. Aboubakar thought he had scored a hat-trick in the second half, but his goal was ruled out for offside by VAR.

Key VAR Decisions

The first penalty awarded to Cameroon was checked by VAR and also, Aboubakar’s goal in the second half. VAR will be used throughout the tournament, and it will be interesting to see how it will be applied and interpreted in this tournament.

Cameroon will face Ethiopia on Thursday. Burkina Faso will also hope to get their first points of the tournament against Cape Verde.