Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions dominated Malawi on their way to a 4-0 victory in FIFA World Cup qualifying, moving to the top of Group D for now after earning three points at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg. An early red card for Malawi paved the way for Vincent Aboubakar, Frank Zambo Anguissa and Christian Bassogog to score and maintain pressure on group rivals Ivory Coast for the all important top spot in the group. Cameroon now lead by two points with Ivory Coast playing Mozambique later and an enticing final day matchup between the two African footballing powers awaiting on Tuesday.
The game got off to a slow start and Cameroon took some time to get going as Malawi attempted to push forward. In the 17th minute, the first half chance fell the way of the Flames when a corner kick from Gerald Phiri, Jr. found defender Limbikani Mzava at the near post, but the AmaZulu player headed wide.
Soon after disaster struck for Malawi when Cameroon forward Moumi Ngamaleu got around keeper Brighton Munthali and to the end line. With time to survey his options with the keeper out of position, Ngamaleu picked out striker Vincent Aboubakar, who attempted to shoot through the crowd of Malawian defenders scrambling to guard the goal. John Banda attempted to save on the line, but used his hand to block Aboubakar’s shot and the referee awarded a penalty kick for Cameroon before dismissing Banda with a red card. Aboubakar then stepped up to convert the penalty kick and get his goal.
Cameroon put themselves beyond reach before halftime arrived. A short 41st minute corner kick from Ngamaleu found midfielder Frank Zambo Anguissa with the Malawi defense a bit unprepared. The Napoli player flicked the ball in the air with his first touch and then unleashed a well struck volley that overwhelmed Munthali and zoomed past him for the second goal.
A numerically disadvantaged Malawi side offered little resistance once the first goal arrived and the rest of the match was easy and relaxed for the Cameroonians. In the last ten minutes of the match, substitute Christian Bassogog delivered a brace to finish off the scoring. In the 85th minute, the Shanghai Shenhua forward received a pass from Aboubakar on the right wing and surged into the Malawian penalty area before cutting inside, muscling off a defender and finishing past Munthali. A little over a minutes later, it was Bassogog once again receiving a pass on the right flank and using the space given to close in and curl his shot past the helpless Munthali.
Highlights of the match are in the link below.
