On Monday, after losing eight straight games at the World Cup, Cameroon salvaged a point with a 3-3 draw against Serbia thanks to a late goal from substitute attacker Vincent Aboubakar. After two wild games in Group G, both teams are tied with one point apiece and are still in the hunt for a spot in the round of 16.
Cameroon will play Brazil in their final game on Friday, while Serbia will face Switzerland. After Cameroon took the lead on a goal by Jean-Charles Castelletto shortly before the interval, Serbia came storming back with two goals in quick succession from Strahinja Pavlovic and the tremendously brilliant Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to take control of the game.
Cameroon- Serbia World Cup fixture ends in 3-3 draw
By the time Aleksandar Mitrovic scored again early in the second, his team had appeared to be in command and on the way to an easy victory. Aboubakar, who led all scorers at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, entered the game as a substitute and single-handedly changed the course of the game. To cut the deficit in half, he scored a beautiful solo goal with a daring chip over the keeper.
Three minutes later, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting smashed in a cross from the resulting breakaway. Serbia, however, got off to a better start. Mitrovic hit the post after he headed the ball over the crossbar and again after some nifty footwork opened up a shooting opportunity. Again, he had a golden opportunity to score, but he missed the target after Cameroon’s sloppy clearance gave the ball to him eight yards from goal and a wide-open net.
Cameroon took the lead after Serbia gave away a corner
After Serbia foolishly gave away a corner, Cameroon scored on the ensuing set piece to take the lead. To finish off a Nicolas N’Koulou flick, Castelletto got his foot on the ball and tapped it in at the far post. Serbia scored in first-half stoppage time to tie the game with a similar straightforward goal. Dusan Tadic took a free kick and swung it into the penalty area, where the towering Pavlovic was waiting to head it into the back of the net.
Two minutes later, they went up 1-0 when the Cameroon defence gave Milinkovic-Savic too much space on the edge of the box, and he calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net. Mitrovic started and finished Serbia’s third goal, which was also a masterpiece. He charged toward the Cameroonian penalty area.
After several passes inside the box, Andrija Zivkovic squared the ball to the high number nine, who tapped it in easily. So Aboubakar decided to leave the bench at that point. First, he assisted on a brilliant chip shot that put Cameroon ahead, 3-2. He evaded the offside trap, raced clear, and swung in a low cross for Choupo-Moting to score and force overtime.
