Though they made life difficult for themselves, Cameroon is through Group D at the African Cup of Nations after their 2-2 draw with Tunisia, a result that eliminated the Eagles of Carthage from the tournament.
The difficulties started in the first minute for the Indomitable Lions when Amine Chermiti headed home a Khaled Souissi ball to give Tunisia an almost-immediate lead.
Tunisia continued to press early, forcing Carlos Kameni into another early save, before Cameroon found the measure of the match and start maintaining most of the possession.
In the way, the match played out as expected, with the talented Lions the more attack minded with the Tunisians poised for counters.
That is the way the rest of the half played out, with Tunisia having the only meaningful chance – a counter that found the side of Kameni’s net.
Cameroon, however, would not go long into the second half before finding an equalizer.
Giving Tunisia a taste of what it’s like to have a goal scored against you in a half’s first minute, Samuel Eto’o had an easy finish off a Pierre Webó pass, equalizing in the 46th minute.
The match’s second goal heightened what was already a physical and chippy match. The match would see eight yellow cards (including two for Tunisia’s Ammar Jemal). As manifested in the early second half, the physical nature of the match saw many charges and borderline sliding challenges, leading to a confrontational attitude between the teams.
By this time, Cameroon was in greater control of the match, though an errant header from defender Aurelien Chedjou looped over Kanemi, giving Tunisia their second lead.
Cameroon equalized in less than a minute.
Pierre Webó, in possession with his back to goal, laid a ball off to an oncoming Landry N’Guemo. The midfielder’s laser beat Aymen Mathlouthi to his near post, evening the match in the 64th minute.
Tunisia needed a win to go through and played the last half hour as such, but Cameron was able to hold-off the Eagles and get a point.
Tunisia finishes the Cup of Nations undefeated. They also finish winless, having drawn all three of their matches. With three points, the claimed fourth place in Group D.
Cameroon finished one point better, and with the tie-breaking rules that distinguished them, Zambia and Gabon, Cameroon goes through as the group’s second place team.
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