A thrilling Group G battle between Cameroon vs Serbia 2022 ended in a 3-3 draw on Monday, keeping their hopes alive of making the last 16.
After Serbia gave a 3-1 lead early in the second half thanks to goals from Strahinja Pavlovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, Rigobert Song’s team seemed almost doomed.
In the 89th minute, substitutes Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored two quick-fire goals to tie the match, moving Cameroon and Serbia to a point apiece, two points behind Brazil and Switzerland.
As a result, Cameroon will have to hope Switzerland beats Brazil to avoid being eliminated with a game to spare; instead, the west Africans are still in with a chance of being eliminated at the group stage.
The Cameroon team faces a tough task as they play Brazil in their final match, and according to reports, they will be without first-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana following an unspecified disciplinary matter.
It seems Onana was sent home from the World Cup after a disagreement with Song, but the deluge of pre-match turmoil didn’t hinder Cameroon’s performance against a Serbian team who deserved to win.
Mitrovic was almost invisible in Serbia’s defeat to Brazil, but here he involved from kick-off. After a neat exchange of passes with Dusan Tadic, Mitrovic crashed a shot off the post in the 11th minute that was too close to the goal.
The Cameroon vs Serbia 2022 worldcup
When a mix-up in the Cameroon defense allowed the ball to fall at Mitrovic’s feet with only Onana’s replacement Devis Epassy to beat, he shanked an awful first-time finish wide, leaving only himself to blame.
Castelletto repaid Marko Mitrovic for his missed chance in the 29th minute by ghosting in at the back post to meet Nicolas Nkoulou’s flick-on.
Later in the game, Kunde missed a golden opportunity to extend Cameroon’s lead in the 43rd minute by shooting straight at goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and then slamming the rebound wide.
After a half-time scramble, Pavlovic brilliantly headed Dusan Tadic’s floated free kick into the back of the net during first-half stoppage time.
Within two minutes after Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa sloppily gave the ball away just outside his own penalty area, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic turned the game around with a superb left-footed finish.
Mitrovic tapped in Andrija Zivkovic pass unopposed in seven mints
Seven minutes after the break, Mitrovic tapped in Andrija Zivkovic pass unopposed after a beautiful move that included Milinkovic-Savic and Tadic.
In the dying minutes of the game, Cameroon turned the tide with a strange goal from Aboubakar, giving them a chance to salvage the match.
Al Nassr’s forward raced through on Castelletto’s pass over the top to score an improbable goal over Serbia’s keeper after a VAR review awarded him the goal.
As a result of Aboubakar’s pace, Serbia had a difficult time containing Choupo-Moting’s level. The Bayern Munich forward found space down the right and drilled in a simple finish that sparked wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
End-to-end action left neither side with a winner, meaning the final game will determine which side makes the knockouts.
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