Cape Verde 1-1 Cameroon: Lax defensive showing should give AFCON rivals hope as Vincent Aboubakar scores again

Admittedly, this was a reasonably rotated Cameroon side, although the Africa Cup of Nations hosts’ defensive lapses could well be a source of optimism for other nations who harbour realistic ambitions of winning the tournament.

Given Cameroon’s strong record on home soil, as well as the red-hot form of Vincent Aboubakar, many will have them down as favourites to win the AFCON.

Still, the manner in which Cape Verde were able to trouble their backline should provide hope to the likes of Nigeria. Were it for some better decision making at times, the Indominable Lions could well have been shocked on Monday afternoon.

Aboubakar, however, is a man on a mission. His goal, a lethal half-volley just before the interval after Cape Verde failed to deal with a free-kick, was his fifth of the tournament and he could well have had more were it not for an uncharacteristically poor finish when the goal gaped in the second-half.

Cape Verde, to their credit, held a solid defensive shape throughout. After conceding, they found themselves in behind the Cameroonian last line a number of times and were good value for the draw when Garry Rodrigues scored an audacious back-heeled equaliser in the 53^rd minute.

From there, the Blue Sharks largely held their shape and battled to what many would have considered a surprising draw.

Elsewhere in Group A, Burkina Faso drew with Ethiopia to secure second spot on goals scored.