A brace from Vincent Aboubakar gave hosts Cameroon the perfect start, as they came from behind to beat Burkina Faso 2-1 in the opening game of the 2021 AFCON on Sunday.

It was Burkina Faso who took a shock lead through Gustavo Sangare as he volleyed home midway in the first half.

But Aboubakar converted two penalties in the first-half to record Cameroon’s second ever win against Burkina Faso at the AFCON. 

Sangare netted the first goal of the tournament on 24 minutes moments after Bertrand Traore’s header was cleared off the line.

The ball was worked back into the box, Andre Onana came for it but got nowhere near, and Sangare volleyed in really well at the back post.

With five minutes left in the half, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa went down in the box under a challenge from Bertrand Traore. The referee initially waved away the appeals, but after a VAR review he pointed to the spot and Aboubakar made no mistake.

There was no need for a review in first-half stoppage time, when Issoufou Dayo flew into a challenge and brought down Nouhou Tolo as he crossed it in.

Aboubakar again stepped up and this time sent his penalty into the opposite corner to give Cameroon a 2-1 lead heading into the break.

Cameroon thought they had a third and Aboubakar his hat-trick, after he bundled in a rebound from close range. But after a three-minute VAR review, it was eventually ruled out for offside.

The hosts next game comes up on Wednesday against Ethiopia while Burkina Faso will hope to bounce back when they face Cape Verde on the same day.

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