Mozambique 1-2 Cameroon: Indomitable Lions come from behind to beat Mambas in AFCON knockout decider

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group stage has concluded

Cameroon and Mozambique both qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 following a 2-1 comeback win for the Indomitable Lions in Agadir.

The Mambas - fresh from their first-ever victory in an AFCON match last weekend - opened the scoring in the 23rd minute thanks to a magical curling effort from the left boot of in-form midfielder Geny Catamo, who had provided both a goal and assist in the history-making win over Gabon days prior.

However, they were soon pegged back when a penalty box scramble resulted in defender Nene booting the ball into his own net when trying to make a clearance from the turf.

The two sides went into half-time level, and Cameroon head coach David Pagou withdrew Premier League stars Bryan Mbeumo and Carlos Baleba at the interval with both men sat on yellow cards that would have seen them suspended for the first knockout round had they picked up another.

Both teams lost players to injury through the opening 50 or so minutes, including Nene and Diogo Calila from the Mozambican ranks plus Cameroonian skipper Nouhou Tolo .

But the decisive moment provided to be the interception of a slack pass by Bayer Leverkusen forward Christian Kofane five minutes before the hour mark, with the impressive 19-year-old then knocking the ball onto his right foot before rocketing it in via the crossbar from the edge of the area.

In the other final Group F game over in Marrakesh, Ivory Coast came from two goals down to secure a 3-2 triumph over a Gabon side that showed plenty of spirit despite already being out of contention for the knockouts before a ball had been kicked on Wednesday.

That result meant the Elephants go through as group winners despite a topsy turvy day in which three teams sat at the summit, so it’ll be them taking on Burkina Faso - the runners-up from Group E, after their win over Sudan earlier in the day - in the last-16.

Cameroon, as the second-placed team from this group, will face Group B’s South Africa in the next round, while Mozambique should sneak through comfortably as one of the best third-place teams in the tournament .