Cameroon edge Gabon 1-0, Eyong nets in 6th AFCON
Cameroon grabbed a 1-0 win over Gabon on December 24 in Agadir to open their AFCON Group F campaign, with Karl Etta Eyong striking inside six minutes to settle a tense derby. The Standard described the contest as “hard-fought” as the five-time champions banked a vital three points.
Eyong finished after Bryan Mbeumo slid a pass through, the forward creating space before slipping the ball between goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba’s legs. Gabon threw on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after 33 minutes despite reports of a knock, but the Panthers struggled to unlock Cameroon’s organised back line.The result marked coach David Pagou’s first AFCON match after Cameroon’s messy coaching saga — ESPN called the build-up “chaotic” — and it also ended Cameroon’s AFCON winless run against Gabon stretching back to 2010. Pagou has framed his reset around youth, insisting “youth is not synonymous with inexperience.”