AFCON: Cameroon and Ivory Coast share the points in entertaining draw

African heavyweights Ivory Coast and Cameroon played to a 1-1 draw to finish up Sunday’s action from Group F of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Amad Diallo’s splendid curling finish early in the second half was soon countered by an equalizer off the boot of Indomitable Lions right back Junior Tchamadeu. The two foes are level at the top of Group F on four points each following the result.

The two teams began with a rather cautious first half. Both goalkeepers saw the frames of their goals rattled, with Lions keeper Devis Epassy watching as Ghislain Konan’s cross hit the crossbar inside two minutes. Christian Kofane then shot off the crossbar on the other end from Tchamadeu’s cross.

But after halftime the match exploded into a frenetic clash. Moments after Danny Namaso’s shot took a dramatic deflection off the crossbar, the Elephants struck on the other end when Konan’s switch of play found Diallo. The Manchester United winger cut inside from the right wing and curled a beautiful effort past Epassy to make it 1-0.

A quick response from the Cameroonian team restored parity. Less than five minutes after Diallo’s opener, Tchamadeu’s hopeful effort took a deflection off Konan and looped over Elephants keeper Yahia Fofana who could not get a strong enough hand to the ball. Level again after an hour, the match stabilized with the two teams largely cancelling each other out.

The Ivorians will attempt to win Group F on Wednesday when they finish up against a desperate Gabon team that has yet to earn a point. Cameroon, level with Sunday’s opponents on four points will face Mozambique who defeated Gabon earlier on Sunday.