Cameroon 3-3 Serbia: Cameroon’s comeback excites fans but both teams miss out on main mission of 3 points
It was an instant classic at the Al Janoub stadium as both Cameroon and Serbia came into the match in a must win situation. Any chance of advancing out of the group stage hinged on one these two teams taking the full three points with a win on day nine.
Drama in the lead up to kickoff involved Cameroon’s manager Rigobert Song having a reported falling out with starting keeper Andre Onana and going with backup Devis Epassy. It looked like a brilliant move when Cameroon struck first in the 29th minute. Defender Jean-Charles Castelletto founding himself unmarked on the back post of a corner kick to put Cameroon on top 1-0.
It was the roar of the Indomitable Lions that filled the air first, but Cameroon could not stop Serbia’s offensive onslaught in added time to end the first half. The equalizer would come for Serbia in the first minute of added time as Strahinja Pavlović got his first ever goal for Serbia off a header on a perfectly placed free kick from Dusan Tadić. Pavlović becomes Serbia’s youngest goal scorer at a World Cup at 21. That was just an appetizer for Eagle fans, as less than three minutes later the Serb’s struck again with Sergej Milinković-Savić‘s beautiful strike giving Serbia the 2-1 lead at the half time.
The second half began much like the way the first half ended with Cameroon in a state of disarray and Serbia on the offensive. Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrović, who had some good looks early in the game finally punched one in at the 53rd minute to give Serbia the 3-1 lead.
And just when it looked like the Indomitable Lions were ready to bow out, enter super sub-Vincent Aboubakar, who found space and after a beautiful chip pulled pulled Cameroon back to a 3-2 deficit. Less than three minutes later Aboubakar was at it again this time with the assist to the Eric Maxim Choupo Moting’s finish at the 66th minute.
Then it became an absolute defensive slugfest as both squads dug in and prepared for the final 30 minutes knowing what awaited with a loss. Both teams flirted with taking back the lead but in the end neither one could find the firepower to take the three points. Cameroon scored three goals for the first time in a World Cup but it was still not enough.
Looking forward Serbia still has a chance to advance with a win over Switzerland. The path for Cameroon is much more difficult as they will need to shock tournament favorites Brazil to have any hope of moving forward.
