Congo seek first qualifying points as Cameroon visit Brazzaville

The Congo host Cameroon in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying derby on Tuesday, with both sides looking to strengthen their position in Group… [No group stated; don’t add.] at the Stade Alphonse Massamba-Debat in Brazzaville.

Cameroon began their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Comoros, while the Congo lost 1-0 to Namibia in their opening fixture.

“Derbies are never easy. The motivation will be even greater. We know we are facing an opponent who has been hurt by their defeat in the first match,” Cameroon manager David Pagou said at his pre-match news conference.

Kick-off is at 20:00 local time in both the Congo and Cameroon, which is 19:00 GMT and 21:00 in France.

The match will be shown in Cameroon on CRTV and may also be available on Tele Congo in the Congo. Viewers in France can watch on beIN Sports 3, while Canal+ holds the broadcast rights in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. beIN Sports Mena is the broadcaster in North Africa.

Cameroon travel to Brazzaville aiming to build on their opening win in Garoua. David Roy Nyengue, Bryan Mbeumo and Danny Namaso scored in that match, with Namaso also providing an assist and earning a place in the best XI of the opening round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Pagou will, however, be without Christian Kofane, who was injured against Comoros and has been rested. His absence comes in addition to that of Karl Etta Eyong, leaving the coach with significantly fewer options at centre-forward.

The Cameroon manager described his opposite number, Claude Le Roy, as his “father” during Monday’s news conference.

Le Roy, 78, has recently returned to the Congo bench and is a familiar figure to Cameroon supporters. He led Cameroon to victory at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations and will now try to guide the Congo back to the tournament, having been assisted by Senegalese coach Omar Daf.

The Congo have not appeared at the Africa Cup of Nations since 2015 and started this qualifying campaign with defeat by Namibia. Their prospects received a boost when Melvin Zinga was cleared to represent the country.

Zinga, who is the reserve goalkeeper at Angers, has only just been authorised to play for the Congo. Le Roy has confirmed that he will start against Cameroon.

Cameroon, meanwhile, are expected to retain Blondy Nna Noukeu in goal as they attempt to make it two wins from two in the qualifiers.