Comoros To Face Cameroon Without Recognised Goalkeeper
Africa Cup of Nations debutants Comoros will face host nation Cameroon without a recognised goalkeeper in their ranks on Monday.
Comoros and Cameroon will square off in the round of 16 for a place in the quarterfinals but the minnows from East Africa have been hit with a coronavirus outbreak in camp.
Number one goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina is injured, having been stretchered off in their 3-2 win over Ghana on Tuesday following a collision with Andre Ayew which earned the Black Stars captain a straight red card.
Reserve goalkeepers Ali Ahamada and Moyadh Ousseini are two of 12 individuals in the Comoros camp who have tested positive for coronavirus on the eve of the match.
Head coach Amir Abdou will also be absent from the touchline with a positive coronavirus test.
AFCON rules state that teams will be forced to fulfill games once they have 11 players available, even if none of them is a goalkeeper.
Comoros will therefore have to play an outfield player in goal in what is arguably the biggest game in the country’s history.
“We try to deal with it the best we can," Comoros general manager El Hadad Himidi explained.
“Without the coach, some major players and the two remaining goalkeepers, the situation is quite difficult.”
Assistant coach Jean-Daniel Padovani added: "We've already chosen an outfield player who will start as keeper...It's a player who in training has shown that he can play as a keeper."
Comoros made it into the knockout rounds of the competition as one of the four best third-placed teams from the group stages after winning against Ghana.
