Antonio Conceiçao, the Indomitable Lions Coach, says his team demonstrated a strength of character in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) third/fourth place playoff against Burkina Faso.
Cameroon came back from three goals down to beat Burkina Faso on penalties to win bronze following a 3-3 stalemate at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé.
Conceiçao speaking at a post-match news conference noted that in spite of that the team was down by three goals, they showed character to claim the third place.
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“We had a first objective which was to play the final but it was decided on details in the semi-final against Egypt.
“Today, we demonstrated the strength of character of this group and we won on penalties,” he said.
The coach also explained his reason for having a much-changed lineup with tournament’s leading scorers Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Ekambi starting on the bench.
Both Ekambi and Aboubakar who were the captain and talisman of the team had to wait until the second half before they were introduced into the game.
Aboubakar was responsible for two of the three goals scored by Cameroon as he increased his overall goal tally to eight in the tournament.
“Barely 48 hours after playing extra time, I couldn’t take any risks with the players and that’s why I reshuffled my team.
“We saw several players play tonight and I’m satisfied with the performance of several players,” he said. (NAN)
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