* After Mozambique stunned 7-time champions, Egypt by leading 2-1 towards the end only to succumb to a late penalty
* Cape Verde shocked Ghana with a 1-2 defeat while Angola’s held Algeria to a 1-1 stalemate
Maravi Express
Ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Cote d’Ivoire 2023, Algeria’s legend Rabah Madjer and Senegal’s talisman, Sadio Mane both acknowledged that all the powerhouses of African football qualified for the tournament — making it exceptionally fierce.
Advertisement
And it has come to pass as the unexpected happened on Sunday when Confederation of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) representatives, Mozambique stunned 7-time champions, Egypt by leading 2-1 towards the end only to succumb to a late penalty, which Mohammed Salah converted to end the match 2-2.
On same day, another COSAFA side, Cape Verde shocked Ghana with a 1-2 defeat while Angola’s striker, Cristovao Paciencia rescued a vital point for his side after converting from the spot to hold Algeria to a 1-1 stalemate.
Angola celebrate
A tensed encounter between Guinea and Cameroon on Monday played out a 1-1 draw and while the Indomitable Lions’ coach, Rigobert Song said he was satisfied with the stalemate, admitted the game was tough for his side.
“The start of the match was difficult for us, especially in the first 30 minutes,” he told CAFonline. “You know how it has been in the start of this tournament;it has always been difficult. We saw how some teams started this tournament.”
The former Cameroonian player added that they controlled the game but couldn’t pick all points: “We controlled the flow of the match, but we were not able to score the second goal of the match to take the victory — I hope to do it in the next match.”
Advertisement
The coach explained that he would correct the mistakes his players made during the clash with Guinea, before their next game which will be against Senegal, who won 3-0 against The Gambia.
“We all saw the match, there is a positive part. We will correct the mistakes, and in the next four days the players will know their mission.
“For my part, I will work with my assistants on the technical team to correct the problems we encountered,” he said.
Guinea took an early lead through Mohamed Bayo after being given all the space and time in the world and gleefully pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty box beyond the reach of Fabrice Ondoa to put them in the lead against the five times champions, Cameroon.
Guinea captain, Francois Kamano was showed the marching orders after penalizing Cameroonian midfielder, Olivier Ntcham inside the added on time in the first half.
Advertisement
The situation was reviewed by the video assistant referee (VAR) and an initial yellow card was changed to red card by referee Mutaz Ibrahim and Cameroon took advantage of the numerical disadvantage of the Guineans in the second half.
The Indomitable Lions got the equalizer six minutes into the second half following Frank Magri’s show of superb aerial ability to pounce onto a free kick to render the game 1-1.
In his assessment ahead of the tournament, Algerian legend Rabah Madjer said it was difficult to predict favourites of the 2023 edition, saying it has the continent’s formidable teams.
Legend Rabah Madjer
He told CAFonline: “I am highly confident about the quality of the competition because the strongest teams in the continent are all present and by default this makes it a tough competition.
“The participating sides will all be vying for glory, and I expect them to raise the bar to ensure that the tournament is captivating. Predicting standout teams is a challenging task, given the diverse pool of formidable contenders.
“Some teams will obviously be aiming to go far in the continental competition, while others enter the competition with the sole aim of clinching the coveted title.
“Naming a specific team as the favourite is extremely challenging, especially with giants like the host nation Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, and Nigeria participating in the finals.
Senegal captain, Sadio Mane also predicted that the Cote d’Ivoire 2023 AFCON will be the toughest compared to previous edition as all the big African nations had qualified and would all be aiming to do well.
“We know it won’t be easy but we will be there to do our best and try to go through every round,” he had said. “We are expecting a tough competition.
“This competition will be one of the strongest since I started playing in it because all the big countries are here and they all have their targets, but we will see what will happen.”—Info from CAFonline
