Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign have come to an end in the quarter-finals with a 2-0 defeat to host nation Morocco, a match overshadowed by a pivotal penalty decision that left the Indomitable Lions with a sense of frustration.
The key moment came in when forward Bryan Mbeumo appeared to be brought down in the Moroccan penalty area. The referee waived play on and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system did not intervene to recommend a review.
Speaking after the match, Mbeumo shared his view of the incident. “During the match, I felt that he touched me. After the game, they showed me the footage again, and it’s very clear,” he stated. However, he refused to place the entire result on that one event, adding, “I don’t know if the match was decided solely by that incident.”
The Manchester United forward instead pointed to a slow start as a major regret. “Unfortunately, in the first half we held back a bit and didn’t really play our game… In the second half, in my opinion, we were in control apart from the goal they scored.”
Midfielder Carlos Baleba echoed the sentiment regarding the penalty call but emphasized moving forward. “I think that if the referee had awarded the penalty, the match would have taken a different turn, but he didn’t,” Baleba said. “If VAR couldn’t see it, we’re not going to blame ourselves over that because it’s a football match.”
He acknowledged the team’s disappointment, particularly with conceding two goals from set-pieces, but highlighted the positive experience gained. “The group is disappointed, but there are a lot of positives because we had a very good tournament. Many of us played in our first AFCON. For the upcoming challenges, we will correct what didn’t work.”