Ivory Coast and Cameroon played out an entertaining 1-1 draw on Sunday night in their second Group F match at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, leaving the group wide open heading into the final round of fixtures.
Following a goalless stalemate at the end of the first half, the contest sprang to life shortly after the restart when Ivory Coast thought they had taken the lead through Franck Kessie.
Vakoun Issouf Bayo headed a cross across the face of goal for Kessie to turn home, but the celebrations were short-lived as referee Mustapha Ghorbal ruled the goal out following a VAR review.
The Elephants responded in emphatic fashion just minutes later. In the 51st minute, Amad Diallo collected a perfectly weighted through ball from Ghislain Konan and unleashed a superb strike from the edge of the area, sending the ball inside the left post to give Ivory Coast a deserved lead.
Savour that shot by Amad Diallo. It was that good. 🇨🇮#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | #WePlayDifferent pic.twitter.com/Wybodt4b7W
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 28, 2025
Cameroon, however, were gifted a route back into the match five minutes later in unfortunate circumstances for the Ivorians. Konan, who had earlier provided the assist, inadvertently turned the ball into his own net after deflecting a shot past his goalkeeper, restoring parity for the Indomitable Lions.
There was no stopping this. 🇨🇲⚽️#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | #WePlayDifferent pic.twitter.com/KeDxSe3pc8
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 28, 2025
Both sides pushed for a winner in an open and pulsating contest, but neither could find the decisive breakthrough.
The draw ensures that qualification from Group F remains finely balanced, with all to play for when the final round of group matches takes place next week.
