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Cameroon maintained its hopes of reaching the round of 16 of the tournament Globalism The cup was alive on Monday after coming back from two goals down to lead a thrilling Group G match with Serbia 3-3.
Rigobert Song’s side seemed close to dead and buried after goals from Strahinja Pavlovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Serbia a 3-1 lead early in the second half.
But substitute Vincent Aboubakar and Eric-Maxime Choupo-Moting snatched the equalizer with two quick strikes on the hour mark, leaving Cameroon and Serbia a point each, two behind group leaders Brazil and Switzerland.
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Had they lost, Cameroon could have counted on the Swiss beating Brazil so they would not be eliminated with a game to spare, but instead West Africa still have a chance of exiting the group stage for the first time since 1990.
Cameroon has a tough task ahead of it, as it will play Brazil in its final match, which according to reports will play without first-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana who was left out of the matchday squad just hours before kick-off due to an unspecified disciplinary issue.
Media reports suggest Onana has been sent home from the World Cup after a falling out with Song, but the pre-match turmoil didn’t stop Cameroon from putting up a combative display against a Serbia side that might have deserved a win on the balance sheet.
Mitrovic was almost invisible in Serbia’s defeat to Brazil, but here he was involved from the start, and the Fulham forward was unlucky to give Serbia the lead in the 11th minute when he hit a shot off the post from a narrow angle after an elegant exchange of passes with Dusan Tadic.
– Cameroon back –
But Mitrović had only himself to blame for not opening the scoring after six minutes, firing a horrible first time just wide when the ball fell at his feet after a mix-up in the Cameroon defense with only Onana substitute Davies Ebese to beat.
Castelletto punished the Serbs for Mitrovic’s miss in the 29th minute with the slightest finishing touch, after he volleyed into the back corner to meet Nicholas Nkoulou’s flick in a corner kick.
Then Pierre Conde missed a golden opportunity to double Cameroon’s lead in the 43rd minute when he first fired straight at goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic and then fired the rebound wide.
It was Cameroon’s turn to undo a set-piece as the half crept into first-half stoppage time when Pavlovic deftly headed home Dusan Tadic.
The Serbs were tails high and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic turned the game on its head two minutes later with a superb left-foot finish after Andre Frank Zambo Anguesa fired the ball wide outside his own penalty area.
Mitrovic got the last goal his powerful display deserved seven minutes after half-time, tapping in an unopposed Andrija Zivkovic pass at the end of a beautiful move led by Milinkovic-Savic and Tadic.
The match ended, but Cameroon came back to life from nowhere thanks to Aboubacar El Gharib’s goal.
The Al-Nassr forward charged Castelletto’s pass over the top and slotted an improbable goal over the Serbian keeper, beaming with joy after his goal was awarded after a VAR check.
Abubakar’s speed caused all sorts of problems for Serbia, so he leveled with Choupo-Moting, sprinted in from the right and set up a simple finish for the Bayern Munich striker sparking wild celebrations on the pitch and in the stands.
Neither side could find a winner at the end of the match and their bids for a knockout would go down to the final.
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