Outfield AFCON star to play in goal because of "what he’s shown in training"

Don’t wait around for updates – sign up for our daily football email newsletter today!

Comoros assistant boss Jean-Daniel Padovani has confirmed that they will be forced to start an outfield player in goal against Cameroon on Monday after their squad was hit by a Covid and injury crisis.

The Coelacanths will take on The Indomitable Lions at the Olembe Stadium tomorrow evening as they look to book a quarter-final against the winners of Guinea and Gambia.

Having qualified from their group as the last of four best third-place finishers, their task already looked a difficult one against the hosts, who took seven points from their group having scored seven goals.

However, with goalkeepers Moyadh Ousseini and Ali Ahamada both testing positive for Covid, third choice Salim Ben Boina is unavailable through injury.

As per UEFA rules, teams only need 11 available players in order to take part in a fixture regardless of their positions, Comoros have 12 of their 25-man-squad available.

A CAF statement explaining the rule reads: "A team will be required to play a match if they have a minimum of 11 players available who have tested negative.

"In the event of the absence of a goalkeeper, another player from the team must replace the goalkeeper, provided the total number of available players is at least eleven."

In addition to the rules being made clear before the tournament, some teams called up four goalkeepers for extra cover.

Should Comoros be allowed to call up another goalkeeper? Give us your thoughts in the comments section

With head coach Amir Abdou also testing positive for the virus, the duty fell to Comoros assistant boss Padovani to update their fans on Sunday.

Padovanni had said: "We've already chosen an outfield player who will start as keeper.

"It's a player who in training has shown that he can play as a keeper."

Although the situation is far from ideal, Comoros are trying to go into the game with a positive mindset, despite matters worsening since the last update from the general manager.

El Hadad Himidi said: "We try to deal with it the best we can.

"Without the coach, some major players and the two remaining goalkeepers, the situation is quite difficult."

• FIFA

Source: Read Full Article