Day eight of the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday dished up a five-goal thriller in Lubango, a potentially massive blow for Ghana and a costly ticking off for a champion.
On the pitch, Cameroon fought back from a goal down to snatch a late 3-2 win over Zambia to maintain their pursuit of a fifth title.
Zambia gave Paul Le Guen’s men an almighty fright when Jacob Mulenga put them into an eighth-minute lead, only for Geremi and Samuel Eto’o to put Cameroon back in business.
Zambia captain Christopher Katongo scored from the spot to level with nine minutes left on the clock, but substitute Mohamadou Idrissou headed home the 86th-minute winner to save the Indomitable Lions from a Cup exit.
With the final round of Group C matches on Thursday, Gabon, who fought out a dour goalless draw with Tunisia in the first half of a double-header, lead the pool with four points. Cameroon, stunned by Gabon in their opening game, have three points, Tunisia two points and Zambia one point.
After Cameroon’s third triumph over Zambia in four Nations Cup clashes, Le Guen, who took over Cameroon when they were last in their qualifying group, said: “We can become better, but we started from a low base.”
The former Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Rangers boss added: “We found ourselves in difficulty because Zambia play really well. The first half was very tough for us. Afterwards things got better, but I know they’re good, and that we were fortunate to win and to take the three points.”
Down in Luanda, Ghana star Michael Essien injured his right knee training and could miss their make-or-break Group B clash against Burkina Faso today.
Ghana’s media officer Randy Abbey said: “Michael suffered a right-knee injury in the training session this morning. He was taken to a local hospital for a scan, and we’ll get the results back tomorrow and then have a clearer idea of whether he can play.”
Ghana are one point behind Burkina Faso and the four-time champions need a win to avoid being eliminated after the first round of the biennial African showpiece.
Defending champions Egypt, meanwhile, announced they were fining Borussia Dortmund striker Mohamed Zidan after he reacted angrily to being substituted during his team’s 2-0 win over Mozambique on Saturday.
Zidan refused to shake the hand of his replacement, Ahmed Eid, as he left the pitch after 60 minutes. He also threw his wrist band and kicked a chair in the dugout in frustration.
Egypt coach, Hassan Shehata, said Zidan would be fined and that the player apologized to the entire squad on Sunday.
“Zidan felt that he wasn’t playing well, that’s why he was upset. It wasn’t because of the substitution,” Shehata said.
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