Five-time Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon showed their resilience to battle back and earn a thrilling 1-1 draw with defending champions Ivory Coast in Marrakech, a result that leaves both sides on four points in a finely balanced Group F.

Both teams arrived for matchday two buoyed by narrow opening victories, Ivory Coast having edged Mozambique and Cameroon overcoming Gabon. After demonstrating their defensive strength in their first outings, the early stages followed a similar pattern, with a competitive but cagey first half producing few clear chances.

The crowd, which included high-profile observers such as Jules Kounde, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Kylian Mbappé, were briefly lifted from their seats when Cameroon came agonisingly close to opening the scoring. Christian Kofane’s first-time strike looked destined for the net, only for Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahia Fofana to react brilliantly and tip the ball onto the crossbar in the standout moment of the half.

The goalless opening period merely set the stage for a frenetic start to the second half, which delivered two goals and a disallowed effort before the hour mark. Franck Kessié thought he had broken the deadlock with a calm finish, but his celebrations were cut short after VAR ruled the goal out for offside. Moments later, Danny Namaso’s deflected effort crashed against the woodwork at the other end.

The breakthrough finally arrived for Ivory Coast when Amad Diallo produced a moment of magic, carving out space on the edge of the area before curling an unstoppable strike beyond the goalkeeper to give Les Éléphants the lead.

That advantage proved short-lived, though, as Cameroon responded swiftly. Junior Tchamadeu let fly from the right side of the box, and his effort deflected off Ghislain Konan, looping over the backpedalling Devis Epassy and dropping just over the line despite the goalkeeper’s desperate attempt to claw it away.

Cameroon nearly completed the turnaround late on when Bryan Mbeumo bent a free-kick narrowly wide of the post, but in the end both sides had to settle for a share of the spoils. The draw guarantees at least a top-three finish for each team and sets up an intriguing conclusion to Group F.