Algeria thought they had done the hardest part by winning in Douala in the first leg (0-1). But it is Cameroon who will play their eighth World Cup (record for an African country) after a stunning match on Tuesday evening in Blida (1-2, ap). Lyonnais Karl Toko-Ekambi sent the Indomitable Lions to Qatar at the end of extra time stoppage time (120th + 4).
Led from the 22nd on a goal by Eric Choupo-Moting, the Fennecs will only have held their ticket for the World Cup six minutes, after the equalizer from Ahmed Touba (118th). “We collapsed, reacted coach Djamel Belmadi, in tears on his knees at the final whistle. We put our lives on hold for this match. For our country, our people. »
“It’s our whole life”
“The sky has fallen on our heads,” he continued. It’s football, it’s sport. But it’s our whole life, at the same time. “Belmadi struggled to explain the inexplicable, after this setback in a Mustapha-Tchaker stadium where Algeria had never lost. “I don’t know if we failed mentally. 10 seconds from a World Cup, it is surely a problem of concentration, of lucidity. »
“We were never put in danger, never dominated, except on set pieces and these 10 seconds”, regretted the technician, bitter. 10 seconds that will go down in the history of Algerian and Cameroonian football.
