Substitute Bazoumana Touré struck deep into stoppage time as defending champions Côte d’Ivoire completed a stunning comeback from two goals down to defeat Gabon 3–2 in Marrakesh on Wednesday, finishing top of Group F at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Cameroon also recovered from an early setback to beat Mozambique 2–1 in Agadir, with a thunderous long-range effort from Christian Kofane sealing the win.

Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon both ended the group stage on seven points with a +2 goal difference, but the Ivorians claimed first place after scoring five goals to Cameroon’s four. The results confirmed the last-16 line-up, with Côte d’Ivoire set to face Burkina Faso, Cameroon to meet South Africa, and Mozambique to take on Nigeria.

In Marrakesh, Gabon stunned the holders by racing into a two-goal lead midway through the first half. Guelor Kanga opened the scoring in the 11th minute for the Panthers, who were without their star forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, sidelined with a thigh injury. Denis Bouanga doubled the advantage on 21 minutes to give Gabon firm control.

Côte d’Ivoire pulled one back just before the interval when Jean-Philippe Krasso finished from a Wilfried Zaha assist in the 44th minute, sending the champions into half-time trailing 2–1.

The Ivorians reshuffled midway through the second half, withdrawing captain Franck Kessie and Zaha, while Manchester United winger Amad Diallo—who had scored in the opening two group games—remained on the bench until the 76th minute.

Another substitute, Evann Guessand, brought the champions level six minutes from time. The Aston Villa striker had been a late call-up following Sebastien Haller’s withdrawal through injury.

Touré then completed the dramatic turnaround in stoppage time, keeping alive Côte d’Ivoire’s hopes of becoming the first nation to successfully defend the AFCON title since Egypt in 2010.

In Agadir, Mozambique took a shock lead against Cameroon in the 23rd minute when Geny Catamo’s low drive skipped in front of goalkeeper Devis Epassy and nestled inside the post. The advantage lasted just five minutes as Cameroon equalised via a Feliciano ‘Nene’ Jone own goal after Frank Magri struck the post.

Cameroon thought they had gone ahead again shortly after, but teenage forward Kofane was flagged offside. The Germany-based 19-year-old made amends on 55 minutes, unleashing a powerful strike from outside the area that flew in off the underside of the crossbar to secure victory for the five-time champions.