Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo says their first-half performance let them down in their quarter-final defeat by hosts Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), leaving him “really sad” about the manner of his country’s exit from the tournament.
The Indomitable Lions went down 2-0 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on Friday night, with Brahim Diaz and Ismael Saibari scoring the goals in front of a vibrant, partisan crowd.
Playing at his first Afcon since declaring for Cameroon in 2022, the 26-year-old, who was born in France, started all five games, failing to find the net but registering an assist for the winning goal in his team’s opening match against Gabon.
“We didn’t play our football and we saw in the second half that we were a much better team on the ball and we made them adapt a lot,” the Manchester United forward told BBC Sport Africa.
“They took their chances and congratulations to them.”
While Mbeumo had claims for a second-half penalty waved away, Cameroon head coach David Pagou agreed with his player’s assessment.
“It’s true that the players were a bit timid at the start of the match,” he said.
“In the second half we saw some improvement and the team came back into the game
“Overall, we are satisfied with this group, which gave a lot of emotions to the Cameroonian people. That was the objective.
“Unfortunately, Morocco stopped us in our tracks. We will go back calmly and continue our progression.”
Pagou was only appointed to lead Cameroon on the eve of the finals, stepping up from a more junior role after Belgian Marc Brys was sacked in controversial style by the Cameroonian Football Federation and its president Samuel Eto’o, who was in attendance in Rabat.
Cameroon left several senior players, including goalkeeper Andre Onana, out of the squad, preferring to bring a more youthful selection to Morocco.
Among those to impress was Bayer Leverkusen striker Christian Kofane, who made his international debut in the group match against Ivory Coast and scored goals against Mozambique and South Africa – having made his professional debut in Spain’s second tier only a year ago.
“We have such a good group, such a quality group – young as well, so that’s positive for the future,” said Mbeumo.
Diaz is Morocco’s ‘X-factor’
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Brahim Diaz has scored five goals in five games at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, a record for Morocco at a tournament
The hesitancy of some of Cameroon’s young players in the first half was likely influenced by the fiery atmosphere in the stadium.
Morocco head coach Walid Regragui said his side had “12 players” and had turned in potentially their best performance since their historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
“Amazing” is how goalscorer Saibari described the environment created by the fans.
“They were supporting us from minute one to 95. I hope they still keep this vibe so we can work harder for them,” he added.
Morocco have reached their first Afcon semi-final since 2004 and are looking to claim only their second continental title, having last lifted the trophy 50 years ago.
“It has been a long time for Moroccan football and the Moroccan people,” said defender Romain Saiss, who has not played since picking up an injury in the opening match against Comoros.
“We wanted tonight to make history and to break this bad record.
“We’re happy with the game, the way we play, the desire, the intensity we put in the game. The mentality was amazing.”
The former Wolves man described Diaz as one of the team’s “technical leaders”, saying that when he is in good form it makes things “easier”.
The Real Madrid playmaker is the tournament’s top scorer, having bagged three goals in the group stage, the winner against Tanzania in the last 16 and another against Cameroon.
Regragui described him as Morocco’s best player and their “X factor”.
“If he scores (it) is very important for us, but what is important is you work for the team, you do what I want and you believe in what I want,” he said.
“He changed his mentality. I work a lot with him about this. He can be the best player (in) the world if he wants.”
Morocco’s semi-final opponents will be Algeria or Nigeria, who meet in Marrakesh at 16:00 GMT on Saturday.
