Cameroon upset a Brazil team that was without a number of regulars, but their World Cup campaign came to an end after an intriguing match at Lusail Stadium. Vincent Aboubakar scored in stoppage time, but his delight was short-lived as he was handed a second yellow card for pulling his shirt off.
The Indomitable Lions had performed admirably throughout, with Bryan Mbuemo getting an incredible save from Manchester City’s Ederson, who came in for Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, but Switzerland’s victory against Serbia destroyed the African team’s ambitions of progressing to the last 16.
Brazil was in a good place after winning their group games against Serbia and Switzerland. This gave coach Tite a chance to shuffle his strong team and show how many options he has. He made 10 changes, and Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli took the chance to shine with a great performance in which Cameroon goalkeeper Devis Epassy stopped him several times.
Despite the setback, the pre-tournament favorites finished first in Group G and will now face South Korea in the knockout phase after a thrilling late win over Portugal, which saw them edge out Uruguay, which defeated Ghana, on goals scored.
Cameroon may have been eliminated from the World Cup, but Rigobert Song’s team certainly brought the quality and excitement of the group stages here in Qatar.
Brazil controlled the majority of the opportunities at Lusail Stadium, but Cameroon was always there and created a threat, which was realised when the flamboyant Aboubakar shot his header past Ederson during nine minutes of stoppage time.
He paid the price for pulling his shirt off in excitement when referee Ismail Elfath drew a second yellow card, followed by a red.
Goalkeeper Epassy also stood up, notably at the cost of Martinelli, to receive the man of the match award.
Cameroon was undone by their opening-game loss to Switzerland, but they showed heart and talent to come back from a 3-1 deficit to secure a 3-3 draw against Serbia and then overcome strong Brazil in front of 85,986 people here in Lusail.