Late drama as Cameroon advance to AFCON last 16 and Ghana go out
In an amazing finish in Bouake, Ebrima Colley scored on 85 minutes to put Gambia 2-1 up only for Joseph Gomez to concede an own goal before an added-time Christopher Wooh goal won a thriller. Defending champions Senegal beat Guinea 2-0 in the other Group C match to finish with nine points and Cameroon edged Guinea for second place on goals scored after both collected four.
Gambia lost all three matches to finish pointless, but played their part in one of the most remarkable matches so far in the tournament. Victory for five-time champions Cameroon meant four-time winners Ghana were eliminated after finishing third with only two points in Group B on Tuesday.
Hosts Ivory Coast, who suffered a stunning 4-0 defeat by Equatorial Guinea on Monday, will survive if Zambia and Tanzania lose their final Group F matches on Wednesday. The match was a repeat of a 2022 AFCON quarter-final, which hosts Cameroon won 2-0 with Toko Ekambi scoring both goals.
Toko Ekambi was restored to the starting line-up by coach Rigobert Song after playing in a draw with Guinea and being an unused substitute in a loss to title-holders Senegal. Belgium-born Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet made five changes to the team that started against Guinea as they sought their first points and first goal of the tournament.
Although Cameroon are 80 places above Gambia in the world rankings, they came under considerable first-half pressure and were lucky to be level at 0-0 by half-time. Ondoa, a cousin of Onana, parried a hard close-range shot from Ali Sowe to safety in the early stages at the 40,000-seat stadium in the central city.
The goalkeeper rescued Cameroon again after 35 minutes, eventually grasping the ball after a Yankuba Minteh header after a corner appeared
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