So far, Vincent Aboubakar had taken all the light. Top scorer of the African Cup of Nations, with six achievements, the Cameroonian captain had donned the costume of guide of the Indomitable Lions, on the land. This time, it was Karl Toko Ekambi who led his team to victory once morest Gambia (2-0).
What you must remember
After a very poor first half hour, this first quarter-final came to life thanks to the inevitable Aboubakar. The centre-forward created two huge chances to open the scoring, but narrowly missed the target before running into a heroic keeper in stride. Like their captain, the Indomitable Lions have long come up once morest solid but non-existent Gambians offensively (no shots attempted in the first 45 minutes).
It took a big Toko-Ekambi in the second half to break the opposing lock. The Lyon striker’s two goals send Cameroon to the semi-finals. After a tricky round of 16 once morest the Comoros (2-1), the host country reassured in the quarter and is now waiting for Egypt or Morocco for the next round. The Indomitable Lions are only two wins away from winning “their” CAN.
The player: Toko-Ekambi, of course
It only took him 7 minutes to sting tough Scorpions twice. Shortly following returning from the locker room, Karl Toko-Ekambi first improved a cross from Collins Fai to deceive, with a header, a hitherto irreproachable Baboucar Gaye. Just before the hour mark, he allowed his people to break, with a recovery in the skylight. Surgical. Toko-Ekambi left the pitch in the 80th minute, replaced by Clinton Njie to a standing ovation.
The figure: 100%
Proof of the essential aspect of the Aboubakar – Toko-Ekambi attack doublet, the two men scored 100% of the 11 Cameroonian goals in the competition. If the first remains the top scorer with 6 achievements, the Lyonnais is now on the heels with 5 units. Only the Zairian duo Mulumba Ndaye-Mayanga Maku were more prolific in the same edition (12 goals in 1974).
