Cameroon Bows Out of Confederation Cup
Timo Werner led Germany past Cameroon and into the next round of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup on Sunday, scoring twice in a 3-1 win.
Kerem Demirbay gave Die Mannschaft the lead early in the second half after the two teams played out a dire opening 45 minutes.
Ernest Mabouka was sent off for a high boot after 64 minutes, and Werner doubled the lead shortly after. Vincent Aboubakar gave Cameroon fans something to cheer about, but Werner restored the two-goal advantage.
Fans tuning in to watch a high-quality match filled with attacking football were left disappointed early. Germany only needed a draw to advance and didn’t come out with much intensity, while Cameroon tried to threaten on the counter but made few moves into the box.
The first real effort on goal didn’t come until 21 minutes into the match, with Julian Draxler isolating Emre Can, but the Liverpool man fired wide.
Joshua Kimmich missed the target with a diving header, and Sebastian Rudy pulled a shot over, while the Indomitable Lions failed to test Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Demirbay tried his luck with an ambitious effort that went wide, and Andre Zambo Anguissa finally gave Ter Stegen something to do just before half-time, but neither goalkeeper was really troubled during the first half.
Demirbay started the second half by placing a strike over the bar, though he had more luck a few minutes later, blasting a fine shot into the top corner.
German football expert Clark Whitney enjoyed how the midfielder found his footing in the team.
The goal seemed to relax the Germans a bit, and Draxler had a great chance to double the lead shortly after but shot wide. Fabrice Ondoa denied Kimmich with a fine save, and Ter Stegen followed suit on a shot by Aboubakar.
Moumi Ngamaleu missed Cameroon’s best chance, curling a shot agonisingly wide of the post, but any chance the Lions had of equalising evaporated when Mabouka was sent off for a high boot on Can. Video replay was needed to confirm which player had to be sent off, with the official twice getting it wrong.
Werner added to the lead just three minutes later, effectively ending the match with a calm header. Cameroon did not give in, however, and Aboubakar restored some pride for his side with a header Ter Stegen perhaps should have saved.
Werner ensured his team avoided late drama just three minutes later, notching his second goal of the match. Each team had a few late chances, but the score remained unchanged.
Source: BR
