World Cup: All six goals including glorious scoop as Cameroon and Serbia play out classic | Football | Sport
Cameroon and Serbia treated early risers to a World Cup classic to start Monday’s action in Qatar, playing out a six-goal thriller at the Al Janoub Stadium. Rigobert Song’s side fought back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 in a game that arguably featured the individual and team goals of the tournament so far.
The Group G clash was the final 10am kick-off of the tournament and bucked the trend of tedious morning games over the last week. Cameroon and Serbia netted 33 per cent of morning goals in a single game, and Express Sport is here to provide all six to watch at your own convenience.
Jean-Charles Castelletto handed Cameroon a surprise lead in the 29th minute, lingering at the back post to tap in after his centre-back partner, Nicolas N’Koulou, flicked Pierre Kunde’s corner on. It was the 27-year-old’s first international goal, but it switched Serbia into action, and two stoppage-time strikes sent them ahead before the break.
First, Strahinja Pavlovic, dubbed the ‘next Nemanja Vidic’, met Dusan Tadic’s pinpoint free-kick to head past Devis Epassy in the first of six additional minutes. The last-gasp goal sent Cameroon’s joyous crowd flat, and Serbia pounced to take a rapid lead just two minutes later…
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Sergej Milinkovic-Savic came good on his esteemed reputation in European football, receiving the ball from Andrija Zivkovic on the edge of the area before firing a left-footed strike into the near bottom corner. Serbia’s entire substitutes bench rushed onto the field in celebration ahead of what was expected to be a routine second half.
And that feeling strengthened just eight minutes after the restart, with Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic rounding off a sensational team move. Serbia broke quickly before exchanging quick passes between four forwards inside the Cameroon box, ending with Zivkovic providing his second assist to tee up Mitrovic, who slotted home into an empty net.
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Serbia looked set to cruise to victory and move onto three points, but Vincent Aboubakar arrived two minutes after their third and turned the game on its head. Just past the hour mark, the 30-year-old striker latched onto Castelletto’s ball over the defence before sending Nemanja Maksimovic to the shops and producing a stunning scooped finish over the towering Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
It will no doubt be a contender for Goal of the Tournament, giving Richarlison’s athletic scissor kick a run for its money, and Aboubakar’s impact continued just moments later. The African icon found Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting with a pass across the box, and the Bayern Munich man made no mistake in levelling the score, stunning the Serbians.
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Epassy, standing in for usual No 1 Andre Onana, excluded after a row with the Cameroon boss, saved his nation on different occasions before the full-time whistle spelt an end to, without a doubt, the game of the group stage. As exhilarating as the clash was, a draw does Cameroon no favours, whilst Serbia will fancy their chances of progression.
If Brazil defeat Switzerland later today, Serbia will only have to defeat the Swiss and hope Cameroon don’t produce a shock win against the tournament favourites to qualify for the last 16. But whether one or both exit at the group stage, they will know they’ve recorded one of the most memorable meetings in World Cup history.
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