Dylan Bettencourt
Comoros’s Afcon dream has suffered a major blow as they will be forced to play an outfield player in goal, despite their second-choice goalkeeper testing negative for Covid-19 this morning.
The side’s second-choice goalkeeper Ali Ahamada tested negative for Covid-19 on Monday morning, but he has not served the five-day isolation period and therefore cannot feature against Cameroon in their round of 16 clash.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) rules indicate a player who tests positive for coronavirus must be isolated for five days before taking another PCR test – 48 hours before his side’s next match.
Comoros have been on somewhat of a fairytale run in this year’s Afcon, but a Covid nightmare threatens to derail their journey as seven players, including two of their goalkeepers, tested positive for the virus.
Their first-choice goalkeeper suffered a serious injury during their victory over Ghana in the final group stage game leaving Comoros with seemingly no choice but to play an outfield player in goal.
The island nation is playing in their first ever Afcon tournament and making it into the round of 16 is already a great victory. However, having only 11 players available to play against the highest scoring team of the tournament is a major challenge.
A victory may still seem out of reach but as this edition of Afcon has shown, anything is possible.
Comoros head coach, Amir Abdou, remains in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 and will not be on the sidelines to witness his nation make history as they play in the Afcon knockout round for the first time.
Tournament rules stipulate that if a team has 11 players available to play, games will go ahead, regardless of injuries or Covid difficulties.
“We have already chosen an outfield player who will start as a goalkeeper. He is a player who, during training, showed that he could play in goals,” goalkeeping coach Jean-Daniel Padovani told a news conference on Sunday.
Even with a traditional goalkeeper, Comoros’s chances were low, but there is no doubt they will still look to surprise hosts Cameroon when they go head-to-head on Monday night at 9pm.
Image source: @Eurosport
