Andre Onana watched on from the bench on Tuesday night as Cameroon mounted a late comeback against Gambia to snatch a place in the Africa Cup of Nations knockout rounds after being just minutes away from a potential group stage elimination.
The Manchester United goalkeeper’s arrival in host country Ivory Coast last week was delayed so that he could continue playing for his club. But bad weather on his eventual travels ensured he was too late to play in Cameroon’s opening Group C fixture against Guinea, which finished 1-1.
Onana got his chance for the follow up clash with Senegal but couldn’t manage any saves in the 3-1 defeat. Coach Rigobert Song, with whom Onana had a falling out at the 2022 World Cup – resulting in being sent home early and putting his international career on hold for nine months, then opted to drop the £47m star in favour of restoring Fabrice Ondoa to the starting lineup.
Ondoa, who also happens to be Onana’s cousin, is a back-up for third tier French side Nimes. The 28-year-old conceded twice against Gambia, ranked 126th in the world by FIFA, but the Indomitable Lions managed to score three at the other end to jump into second place in the final standings.
At 1-1 into the final few minutes of the game, Cameroon were destined to finish third in the group behind Senegal and Guinea and, crucially, also out of the top ranked third place teams who will make the round of 16. At that stage, only wishful 3-0 defeats for either Algeria or Zambia in their respective final fixtures would have bumped Cameroon into the required top six of those rankings.
To make matters worse, Gambia then scored again to lead 2-1, a result which would have eliminated Cameroon there and then. An own goal from defender James Gomez brought it back to 2-2 in the 87th minute, a lifeline but still the same precarious situation as moments earlier. Then, incredibly, Christopher Wooh stepped up with a 91st minute winner to fire Cameroon into second place.
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They now join Senegal in automatically advancing to the last 16, with Guinea having already done enough to command one of the third place berths regardless of any outstanding group fixtures.
For Onana, it remains to be seen whether Song will see fit to recall him to the team again or if Ondoa, despite an obscure club career, will retain the gloves for the rest of Cameroon’s tournament. They will next face Nigeria, who clung to Equatorial Guinea’s coat tails in Group A, on Saturday.
Back in Manchester, United’s season will continue without Onana. The Red Devils have recently been afforded a winter break since the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 14 January, but the campaign will resume on Sunday with the trip to south Wales to face Newport County in the FA Cup.
Summer signing Altay Bayindir, bought for little over £4m from Fenerbahce, is expected to make his United debut in that tie after spending the whole season to date as Onana’s back-up. Depending on far Cameroon get at AFCON, Bayindir could end up keeping the gloves for as many as three upcoming Premier League fixtures against Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa.
