After the historic qualification of Nations Cup newcomers, Madgascar and Mauritania, the Comoros national football team have received massive attention with speculations suggesting they could feature in Africa’s topflight football event for the first time since 1976.
The Coelacantes face Group B rivals and defending champions, Cameroon during the
last day of the AFCON qualifiers at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde
On Saturday 23 March.
The outcome of the epic encounter will determine who joins Morocco from group B to secure a spot for the 2019 AFCON finals in Egypt.
The visitors need a win to pick qualification ticket for the Egypt 2019 football showpiece in June while a point will book a place for the Indomitable lions of
Cameroon.
Comoros have not appeared in an AFCON competition since 1976. They attempted
in previous AFCON qualifying campaigns in 2010,2012,2013,2015 and 2017 but
did not succeed.
The team currently led by Coach Amir Abdou succeeded to pull a 1-1 draw with Cameroon at the Stade Said Mohamed Cheik in Comoros last year.
The Coelacantes took the lead after the team’s top goal scorer, Ben Nabouhane got the cutting raiser
at the 15th minute. However Stephen Bahoken leveled scores for Cameroon
at the 80th minute of play.
Importants Statistics to Note ahead of the Cameroon vs Comoros game
The Comoro Island have won just one of their AFCON qualifier matches so far, with a 2:1 edgy victory over Malawi and They have lost 2 matches and drawn two during the campaign.
They are currently third in group B with 5 points and a win will sail them
through.
In their last 10 encounters, the Comorian National football selection have won two games, drawn 5 and recorded 3 defeats.
They have kept just a single clean sheet out of their ten previous
matches in all competitions.
The team’s home records are far more impressive compared to their away form where they have scored just 4 in their last 6 away games.They equally failed
to score in 3 of their away encounters.
A win for the East Africa nation against defending African champions Cameroon will see Comoros join Madagascar and Burundi all new comers in the modern competition.
Mauritania qualified for the first time in their history after beating Botswana 2-1 and are presently top of Group I with 12 points after 5 matches played.
Madagascar on their part made it to an AFCON final on October 16, after they narrowly beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0. They are second in group A and tally 10 points, 3 points adrift already qualified Senegal.
A victory over Cameroon will imply Comoros would have created one of the greatest upsets in the history of football. That is ousting AFCON title holder away from home.
Beng Emmanuel
(Emmanuel Beng on twitter)
