Comoros has suffered a Covid outbreak which has limited their lineup choices for the upcoming game.
Comoros qualified to the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by finishing third behind Morocco and Gabon in Group C. Following two defeats in their first two games, the Coelacanths secured their qualification by pulling off a shock win over Ghana.
They will have to face Cameroon in their last-16 battle on Monday. However, a Covid outbreak has handed a major blow to their squad depth ahead of the game.
Comoros’ first-choice goalkeeper Ben Boina suffered an injury during the win against Ghana. The French-born keeper will miss the game as he is yet to recover. However, Comoros will also have to play without their other two keepers, Ali Ahamada and Moyadh Ousseni, who are self-isolating.
A total of 12 players and staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in Comoros’ camp. On Saturday, the Comoros FA announced the manager Amir Abdou alongside one of his assistants, had also moved to isolation.
Later on, the FA’s general manager El Hadad Hamidi named five outfield players who have also returned positive tests: midfielders Nakibou Aboubakari, Yacine Bourhane, striker Mohamed M’Changama and defenders Kassim Abdallah and Alexis Souahy.
According to the Confederation of African Football’s rules, teams must attend the games as long as they have at least 13 outfield players available. With no goalkeepers in their squad, Comoros will now have to use an outfield player as their goalkeeper against Cameroon.
“We’ve already chosen an outfield player who will start as keeper,” assistant manager Daniel Padovanni said on Sunday.
“It’s a player who in training has shown that he can play as a keeper.”
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