Diallo strikes anew, powers Ivory Coast

MARRAKESH, Morocco (AFP) — Manchester United winger Amad Diallo scored for Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) defending champions Ivory Coast in a 1-1 draw with Cameroon on Sunday that left them sharing top spot in Group F.  

Diallo struck after 51 minutes of a Marrakesh thriller for his second AFCON goal, having notched the match-winner against Mozambique four days ago.

But the lead lasted only five minutes before Ivory Coast's Ghislain Konan deflected a shot from Junior Tchamadeu to bring five-time champions Cameroon level.

Ivory Coast and Cameroon have four points each, one more than Mozambique, which beat Gabon, 3-2, earlier in Agadir.

The top two finishers in each group qualify for the Round of 16. The best four third-placed teams from the six mini-leagues also progressed to the knockout stage. 

The rivalry between the Ivorian Elephants and the Cameroonian Indomitable Lions is among the greatest in the AFCON, stretching back to 1970 in Sudan. 

Cameroon held a 5-1 lead in victories ahead of the Marrakesh showdown. A further two matches went to penalty shootouts and Ivory Coast won both.

Among the 35,165 crowd were three La Liga stars and French internationals Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni of Real Madrid and Jules Kounde of Barcelona.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) president, South African Patrice Motsepe, was also in the stadium having watched Mozambique beat Gabon.

The first chance of the opening half fell to Diallo, who fired wide after connecting with a cutback.