Cameroon 0-0 Ghana: 5 Talking Points | African Cup of Nations 2019

In a clash of heavyweights, Ghana took on Cameroon in their group game in the African Cup Of Nations 2019. With all of the accolades shared between them, it would be an understatement to say that the expectations everyone had for the match were crushed.

In what ended up as a rather boring match, both teams shared the spoils with a goalless draw.

It was, unfortunately, only one of three stalemates that took place in the last round of matches. Cameroon and Ghana couldn't find the net at any point.

Ghana are now placed second in their group after drawing both games against Benin and Cameroon. Cameroon maintains their grip on the top spot in the group and have a stronger chance of getting into the knockout stages.

The one decisive point in the Cameroon-Ghana match came in the 88th minute from an enormous defensive error.

With possibly the worst back-pass in this year's edition of AFCON, Cameroon centre-back Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik gave away possession unexpectedly to Kwabena Owusu who fired a shot that rattled the goalpost.

The utterly disappointing back-pass and the unlucky shot that hit the bar are mere testaments of how poor both teams were.

With constantly poor touches on the ball and below par finishing on both sides, it was a frustrating game to watch, and the heat didn't make it any better. The refereeing just added added to the misery to what was the most anticipated match of Group F.

We take a look at 5 talking points in the game between two star teams that did not even reach expectations.

#1 The referee made rather odd decisions

The referee's word is law - most of the time - on the field. That makes it rather disconcerting when such an important person starts making unusual decisions.

In the early parts of the game, Weyesa made it clear he would call for a foul from any offending player. While that sounds like justice served on a platter, it was boring in reality. While he effortlessly blew his whistle rather consistently early on, it meant both teams had to stop play a lot, and couldn't find their tempo. Fair challenges, that weren't necessarily fouls, were given almost immediately.

The referee also took his time with set-pieces, notably wasting nearly an entire minute on arguing with players and complaining, instead of allowing a cornerkick to take place. This particular incident happened in the first quarter of the game.

Minutes before halftime, a blocked shot rebounded off the referee and he actually halted the game because of it to give Ghana a freekick. With other disappointing decisions that included not booking players for serious fouls until the 65th minute, the referee was just as below-par as the whole game.

#2 It took a long time for chances to get created

While the accurate passing percentages of both teams were over 80%, it was all pointless possession that did not achieve much.

Cameroon, who held 57% of the possession and made 87% successful passes, managed only four key passes. Ghana did a lot better with 13 key passes from an 83% successful pass rate.

Also, while Cameroon had eight shots at goal, Ghana had 15, but the very poor finishing on display set a goalless result in stone.

However, these are just stats. Apart from Kwabena's shot at the bar, Bassogog’s volley at Mensah's chest, Wakaso's effort just wide, and a first-half Bassogog chance saved by Ofori, nothing else exciting happened in the final third. Both teams couldn't fashion chances to yield any results.

#3 This game had a notable number of fouls for only one yellow card

While much of this hulabaloo was the referee's doing in the first place, the players themselves did get into a number of altercations that the officials had to halt the game for.

Cameroon had all of 16 fouls, with a quarter of that caused by 28-year-old centre-back Ngadeu-Ngadjui. Ghana, on the other hand, had 11 fouls, with Jordan Ayew singularly causing four.

While the fouls affected the game negatively, the number of tackles were a more positive point to take home for Ghana.

The Black Stars had a total of 23 tackles, with the attacking players - Jordan and Andre Ayew - effectively partaking in a third. Cameroon, however, had 18 tackles in total, with wing forwards - N'Jie and Bassogog - contributing half of the team's effort.

#4 How much does the heat affect the players?

The heat could be an issue going forward in the tournament

When the match at the Ismalia stadium started this evening, it was 32 degrees, and that could have hampered the players in more ways than one.

Serious concerns had already been raised before AFCON started about how the temperature - which could hit 40 degrees - would affect the players negatively.

The game began with a lower tempo than usual, possibly from players trying to manage their hydration levels. The stadium, hot as day, wasn't nearly full. The heat did a good job of keeping people away from the match.

Players on both teams used the opportunity given by an injured player on the pitch waiting for assistance to remain hydrated and healthy.

#5 Poor control from the attackers of both teams

The attacking intent from both the sides were lacklustre

To say that the attacking sections of either team had a bad day would be a major understatement.

While Cameroon saw their winger Clinton N'Jie dispossessed a whole six times, Ghana on the other hand saw fewer dispossessions in their strike force. Although Ghana made a reasonable number of errors especially in their ball control, Cameroon came out a lot worse with 16 moments of poor control.

Clarence Seedorf, Cameroon's coach, may have spoken positively about the game, but neither fans on both sides will agree with him. Especially with the poor performance their attackers showed.