OUTSIDERS Comoros have been left without a goalkeeper to take on hosts Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations after the team was hit by a wave of Covid-19 cases.

Twelve members of the Comoros delegation have tested positive for the virus, including the two remaining goalkeepers in the squad, Moyadh Ousseini and Ali Ahamada, Comoros general manager El Hadad Himidi said on Saturday. The team’s top keeper, Salim Ben Boina, is out injured.

In total, seven players and Comoros coach Amir Abdou have tested positive.

Comoros play Cameroon today in the round of 16. The tiny island nation stunned four-time African Cup champions Ghana 3-2 in Group C to claim their first victory in major tournament and squeeze through as the lowest-ranked of the third-place teams.

“We try to deal with it the best we can,” Himidi said, adding that two physiotherapists working with the team were also positive. “Without the coach, some major players and the two remaining goalkeepers, the situation is quite difficult.”

Comoros only played their first game as a team in 1979.

(BLOB) Liverpool teammates Mo Salah and Sadio Mane will clash for a World Cup place after Egypt were drawn against Senegal in the final round of African qualifying on Saturday.

A showdown between arch-rivals Nigeria and Ghana is also in store, as well as matches between Cameroon and Algeria; DR Congo and Morocco; and Mali — the only team left in the running yet to have appeared at a World Cup — and Tunisia.

The first legs will be played on March 24, with the return legs five days later. The winners progress to the finals, to be held in Qatar in November and December.