Aboubakar eyeing round of 16 return to fitness

Injury has kept Cameroon’s key striker Vincent Aboubakar from the field at the Africa Cup of Nations after he suffered a hamstring strain on the eve of the tournament in the Ivory Coast but he is line for a dramatic return on Saturday in the last-16 against arch foes Nigeria.

It would be a major boost for the hopes of the Indomitable Lions, who scrambled into the knockout stage with a come-from-behind victory over tiny Gambia in their last group game, snatching a must-win result in stoppage time.

They ended up second in Group C, behind holders Senegal, and as a result take on the Super Eagles at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.

Cameroon scored five goals in their three group games, where they collected four points, but two goals were netted by central defenders and there was also an own goal.

It means the potential of again being able to field Abubakar, a 14-year veteran of the national team, will be warmly welcomed as Cameroon go into the game as underdogs.

Aboubakar, who turned 32 on Monday, was only a teenager when first called up by the Indomitable Lions as a surprise selection and the only locally based player in the Cameroon squad for the 2010 World Cup.

He made his debut in a warm-up friendly against Slovakia in May 2010 and came off the bench for two appearances at the 2010 World Cup. Since, he has gone onto win 97 caps and would have been hoping to reach the magical 100-mark during the Cup of Nations finals in the Ivory Coast.

He can still achieve that, but then Cameroon would have to get to the semi-finals at least, first overcoming Nigeria in Saturday’s last-16 tie and then one of Angola or Namibia in the quarter-finals.

Aboubakar is a previous Cup of Nations winner, netting the goal that saw them beat Egypt in the 2017 final under coach Hugo Broos. Aboubakar scored the 88th minute winner in Libreville, Gabon as Cameroon came from behind to take the title.

It was one of the nine goals he has scored at Cup of Nations tournaments, putting him tie 11th in the all-time list. If he scores a 10th, he will join Kalusha Bwalya of Zambia, Ndaye Mulumba and Mengistu Worku of Ethiopia on 10 goals. Cameroon’s record scorer is Patrick Mboma with 11 goals. 

The tournament in the Ivory Coast is Aboubakar’s fourth appearance, after his debut in 2015. He played again in 2017 but was left out in 2019. At the last finals in Cameroon two years ago, Aboubakar scored eight goals to finish the tournament’s top scorer.

At club level, Aboubakar has had an extensive career, starting at Coton Sport in his hometown of Garoua but after the 2010 World Cup being snapped up by Valenciennes in France.

He had three seasons in Ligue 1 with them but made a big impact when he moved to Lorient in 2013, scoring 16 league goals. That took him to FC Porto in a high profile move and he weas a fan favourite in Portugal where he won two league championships.

He had a loan season at Besiktas and then a move to Turkey in 2020, followed by two seasons at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia before returning to Besiktas, where he scored 13 league goals last season as they finished third in the race for the Turkish league title.

His strong physical presence and sharp eye for goal makes Aboubakar a No.9 in the classic frontman profile and an outlet for the attack which Cameroon have been missing at this edition of the Cup of Nations finals.