Cameroon advance
The Lions of Taranga capped off their group stage dominance with a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Guinea. The result meant that Alou Cisse’s men not only topped the group but they are the only team at this edition of the AFCON to win all their three group games.
In another Group C encounter, Cameroon looked to escort the Black Stars of Ghana back to West Africa when Gambia went 2-1 up after 85 minutes. An intense battle of end to end football eventually led to an own goal by The Scorpions James Gomez in the 87th minute. A dramatic late winner by Christopher Wooh in the dying minutes of the game followed to secure the hard fought 3-2 result Cameroon needed to qualify to the next round of the tournament where the Super Eagles of Nigeria awaits them.
The late great, Diego Maradonna’s infamous hand of God goal was almost replicated at AFCON 2023 when Gambia defender Muhammed Sanneh appeared to have scored an equalizer two minutes after Wooh, but the goal was overturned after a VAR check revealed that he used his hand. The loss meant The Scorpions left Coted’Ivoire with no points to show for all the good football they played. Gambia’s head coach, Tom Saintfiet, sadly resigned immediately following their disappointing exit.
The Foxes help Mauritania make history
Afcon 2023 last night was filled with more marvellous moments and unexpected results. The Dessert Foxes were the latest casualties in the “war” currently going on in Coted’Ivoire.
Captain Riyad Mahrez was surprisingly dropped as the 2019 AFCON champions finished last in the group after losing 1-0 to Mauritania, who had never won a single game in this prestigious tournament before. Centre-back Yali Dellahi scored the winning goal of the match late in the first half to record one of the biggest upsets in African football history. The unexpected defeat means the two-time Afcon winners exit the tournament at the group stage for the second successive edition. Angola finished top of Group D after defeating Burkina Faso 2-0 while Mauritania is likely to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.