The latest round of tests for Covid-19 provided good news for the Comoros team, which on Monday will be able to field a goalkeeper against Cameroon, in a CAN Round of 16 match.
As of Sunday, the selection of the island of less than a million people had none of the three goalkeepers available: its carrier and the two substitutes had contracted the Covid-19 virus. However, according to L’Equipe, goalkeeper Ali Ahmed received a negative test, allowing him to score against the team led by Antonio Conceicao.
There was the possibility of a field player going to goal. “We collected the available players, explained the situation and had several potential goalkeepers,” explained Jean-Daniel Padovani, Comoros goalkeeper coach, at a press conference yesterday.
However, Comoros confirmed the recovery of Ahmed and midfielder Yassine Borhan, and both players must undergo physical tests to be able to play.
Covid status, status update.
2 Coelacanths tested negative after new tests this morning. Ali Hamadeh and Yacine Borhan will join the group in Yaoundé this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/Ov2zpnOSwe
– FFC???? (@fedcomfootball) January 24, 2022
Coach Amir Abdo, who is also positive, will not be off the bench to direct the team.
Cameroon coach Antonio Conceicao admitted that the whole situation “could be an advantage” for his team. “But we can’t think of that in the approach of the game. The opponent got here very well, beating Ghana… We have to look at the match with confidence but not excessively,” he asked, lifting a weight on the shoulders of Abubakar, the top scorer with five goals in the group stage. “I hope it continues in a top-scorer fashion, but we have to distribute this responsibility throughout the team.”
