AFCON 2025: Morocco here we come!.

The Indomitable Lions secured their place at next year’s continental football jamboree with two games to spare, after narrowly edging Kenya 1-0. 

This was during match day four of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers in group J. 

The game took place Monday at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala, Uganda.

Lions head coach, Marc Brys, made two changes to the team that thrashed Kenya 4-1 on Friday October 11, during the first leg in Yaounde.

Jean-Charles Castelleto replaced injured Christopher Wooh, while Kunde Malong was fielded in place of Carlos Baleba.

The game was all about the win to help the team qualify, which Cameroon duly secured.

The Lions struggled to impose themselves during the opening minutes of the game against a more resilient Kenyan side.

Cameroon had its first chance of the game when Bryan Mbeumo teed up Aboubakar, but his low drive was punched out by Kenyan keeper, Bryne Odhiambo.

Castelletto almost gifted Kenya the lead when he was dispossessed in his area but the trio of Kenya’s attacking talent did not make best of their chance.

Kenya continued to chase the lead and came close at the half hour mark with a header from a corner kick.

Cameroon responded via Martin Hongla, who almost produced another moment of rare quality with a powerful drive. 

The midfielder later served Kunde with a fine pass but he strangely missed from close range at the 30^th minute. The first half of the game ended goalless.

The Indomitable Lions burst into life in the second half. Coach Marc Brys doubled his attacking options with Boris Enow making his debut. 

The team recovered from a lacklustre first half but were not still at their usual best.

The five-time African champions were almost rewarded at the 53th minute when Michael Ngadeu rose highest to head Hongla’s inch-perfect cross, but the Kenyan goalkeeper pulled a fantastic save.

Cameroon had hardly had time to digest their missed chance when they were almost stunned by Kenya, with one of their players firing a thunderbolt which came off the post.

The game seemed to be meandering towards a draw when second half substitute, Boris Enow Tarkang, scored a stunning freekick to find the breakthrough shortly after the hour mark.

The 24-year-old DC United midfielder, in the Major League Soccer, MLS, in the United States of America, USA, netted on his debut to hand the Lions the vital win.

Aboubakar attempted to double the lead with a header but failed to hit the target. 

Kenya dug for an equaliser in vain. Cameroon survived a flurry of late pressure with the host almost snatching a draw during stoppage time.

In four matches in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers this far, Cameroon has won three and drawn one.

The Lions currently tops Group J with 10 points. Mathematically, they are through to the final of AFCON for the 22^nd time. The next AFCON tournament, it should be stressed, will be hosted by Morocco next year. 

They will be featuring at the continent’s most prestigious sports event for the sixth time in a row. 

Lions end win-draw syndrome

The Cameroon national team put an end to their win-draw syndrome following yesterday’s narrow win over Kenya.

Since the arrival of Coach Brys, they had not recorded back-to-back wins. 

Brys won his first game in charge with a convincing 4-1 victory over Cape Verde in their first game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

However, despite the bright start, they failed to inspire themselves with the win when they drew 1-1 with Angola in their second outing.

After a convincing 4-1 win against Kenya in their match day three clash, speculations were rife the team could end the syndrome.

The win also ended their struggles on the away trip. They failed to win any of their last three away matches across all competitions.  

Lions join Stallions

Cameroon joined Burkina Faso, who became the first side to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The Stallions obtained their ticket, following a 2-0 away win against Burundi on Sunday.

The 2025 AFCON-bound are guaranteed a top two finish in Group L, after taking 10 points from the first four rounds of matches.

They are through to the Nations Cup for the 13th time in their history and the third consecutive time since 2021.

Cameroon and Burkina Faso, will join hosts, Morocco, at the 2025 edition of the finals.

While the Indomitable Lions will be chasing a sixth continental crown, the Stallions will be hoping to lift the title for the first time.

Other African countries could add to the list of qualified teams. Algeria, Angola, DR Congo, Egypt and Ivory Coast could join Cameroon and Burkina Faso and secure a place at the finals by the time the fourth round of qualifiers culminates Tuesday.

The 2025 AFCON is scheduled to begin on December 21 next year, with the final on 18 January 2026.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3260 of Tuesday October 15, 2024