Yaounde – Cameroon conceded in the second half, but they drew 1-1 with Cape Verde to ensure the top of Group A of the African Nations Cup on Monday.
Vincent Aboubacar scored his fifth goal of the tournament to give Cameroon the lead in the 39th minute, but substitute Gary Rodriguez equalized eight minutes after the break.
Rodriguez’s heel kick raised Cape Verde’s tally to four points, in third place.
Rodriguez was suddenly left out of the starting line-up, but he proved his importance after his participation in the second half.
Cape Verde will wait to see its position among the four best third-placed teams.
Abubakar gave Cameroon the lead after the Cape Verdean defense took advantage of the ball poorly and shot it into the goal.
But Cameroon could not finish the group with three wins, which they were seeking.
“We faced a stubborn team that made things difficult for us,” Abu Bakr told reporters.
“It was difficult to win even though we wanted to finish the group with a perfect record. But we must not take it negatively because we qualified.”
Burkina Faso qualified in second place after a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia, bottom of Group A.
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