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Comoros have been forced to name defender Chaker Alhadhur in goal for their Africa Cup of Nations last-16 clash with Cameroon.
The island nation are competing at their first AFCON and caused a major upset in getting out of the group stage, but their fairytale has swiftly turned into something of a nightmare.
An injury to first-choice goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina was followed up by back-ups Ali Ahamada and Moyadh Ousseini testing positive for COVID-19.
Comoros confirmed on Monday that Ahamada had returned a negative coronavirus test and rejoined the squad, sparking hope that Les Coelacantes might be able to face hosts Cameroon on something of a level playing field.
But reports soon began to emerge claiming the Confederation of African Football (CAF) was insisting Ahamada could not compete because he still needed to adhere to a five-day period of isolation.
CAF did not respond when contacted by Stats Perform, however Comoros’ starting XI included Alhadhur as the team’s starting goalkeeper, with the team’s official Twitter account saying: “Following the decision of CAF not to authorize Ali Ahamada to play, it is Chaker Alhadhur who will be the goalkeeper of the team.”
The 30-year-old, who represents French club Ajaccio, is nominally a left-back but will start arguably the biggest match of his career between the posts.
