Cameroon came from behind with two late goals to reach the last 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, beating The Gambia in a thriller to knock their opponents out of the tournament.

The five-time champions secured second place in Group C on goals scored.

Rigobert Song's side will next face Nigeria at Abidjan's Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on Saturday (20:00 GMT).

The Scorpions looked to have dashed Cameroon's hopes with a 93rd-minute goal but it was ruled out for handball.

Guinea's 2-0 defeat against group winners Senegal allowed Cameroon to move above them in the final table, although the Syli National advance as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Tom Saintfiet resigned as The Gambia coach after their exit without a point but the world's 126th-ranked team - the lowest in the competition - were on course to extend his stay with a huge upset when Ebrima Colley curled them ahead for the first time, making it 2-1 from a tight angle with less than six minutes of normal time remaining.

Victory for Saintfiet's spirited squad would have put them in contention to go through among the third-placed teams and knocked Cameroon out, only for James Gomez to turn the ball beyond his own goalkeeper and make it 2-2 two minutes later when the centre-back lunged in to attempt to intercept Enzo Tchato's cross.

Having been on the brink of elimination, Cameroon climbed into second spot a minute into added time when Christopher Wooh rose to head a corner beyond Baboucarr Gaye's dive.

Cameroon head coach Song dropped Andre Onana in the most high-profile of four alterations to his starting line-up, restoring the Manchester United goalkeeper's cousin, Fabrice Ondoa, in his place.