Moments of inattention on either side cost Cameroon and Serbia victory, so both nations had to settle for a 3-3 draw which puts them in trouble in Group G of the Soccer World Cup on Monday in Doha.
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Strahinja Pavlovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic took turns hitting the target during stoppage time in the first half. Then Aleksandar Mitrovic added in the 53rd minute to give the Europeans a two-goal lead.
Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting replied, however, each time taking the Serbian defense by surprise, to create the equality.
If the two teams remain alive under this result, the atmosphere was certainly different in the two locker rooms after the meeting. On the Cameroonian side, we were of course very happy with this recovery.
“This is the reason why we do this beautiful job of soccer,” said midfielder Gaël Ondoua, according to AFP. This is the madness of this sport. We had nothing left to lose, that’s why we went all out on every ball. It’s a point won, we will focus on the next game and on the second period where we were better.
heads down
In the Serbian clan, the disappointment was sharp. If the two Cameroonian goals in the second half were a few centimeters from offside, we were not trying to put our heads in the sand. A qualification for the playoffs becomes almost an impossible mission.
“Heads were a little low in the locker room, annoyed goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. A little carelessness that we paid too much for. It’s the World Cup, all the teams know how to play soccer and unfortunately, they make you pay dearly for these little details. But you have to keep a cool head.”
Cameroon will now face Brazil, while Serbia have a date with Switzerland. For both teams, it will be a good challenge and the stars will have to be aligned to qualify.
“We still have the opportunity to qualify, we like to take the most difficult path to achieve our goals,” admitted coach Dragan Stojkovic.
In addition, Cameroon goalkeeper André Onana was dropped from the squad due to his “indiscipline”. Coach Rigobert Song did not give details, merely saying that “in a group, you have to respect the rules”.
Ghana keeps its chances
In the second game of the day, Ghana showed resilience, responding quickly to a brace from South Korea to win 3-2.
The ‘Black Stars’ took an early lead in this encounter courtesy of Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus. But Cho Gue-sung scored twice, in the 58th and 61st minutes of play, to tie the game.
Either way, Kudus came on again in the 68th minute to keep Ghana alive in Group H after a very emotional game on both sides.
“There were a lot of emotions,” said Ghanaian coach Otto Addo, according to AFP. South Korea played a great game, they rushed us. After 20 minutes, we regained control of the game and we had good combinations.
“After half-time, we had real problems, but congratulations to the whole team for finding the resources to score this third goal. We were a bit lucky, but that’s football. I am very happy that our passionate game is being rewarded.”
On the side of South Korea, it is considered that the result is not representative of the match.
“We played well enough to win,” said pilot Paulo Bento, who also received a red card at the end of the match for having strongly criticized the management of stoppage time by the referee in the second half. It’s not a fair result, I’m not happy with the result, but with the performance.”
A painful memory
Ghana will now face Uruguay in their final match of the group stage, with a possible ticket to the playoffs on the line.
This meeting will have a special meaning for the African nation, eliminated by Uruguay in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2010. The match was made famous by the stoppage of the hand of Luis Suarez at the very end of extra time and Ghana’s missed penalty shot afterwards. Uruguay then triumphed on penalties.
“It will be a different approach against a difficult team. We will have to be at our best to hope to beat them, but I have confidence. This incident goes back a long time and we should not necessarily think of it in terms of revenge,” added Addo, however.
South Korea, for its part, will absolutely have to defeat Portugal to hope to continue its journey.
-With AFP