Morocco solid against Ghana, Sadio Mané and Naby Keita already decisive … what to remember from Monday’s meetings

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After the kick-off given by Cameroon on Sunday against Burkina Faso (2-1), the African Cup of Nations continued, Monday, January 10, with four new meetings in groups B and C. Senegal, the Morocco and Guinea successfully entered the competition, as Gabon won against Comoros, who were playing their first ever match in the competition.

The match: Morocco wins its first shock against Ghana

It took 83 minutes to see the Atlas Lions take over the Black Stars. 83 indecisive minutes, not really rich in actions (five shots on target in total out of 17) and where the 22 actors seemed to suffer the heat and humidity which reigned this Monday at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in Yaoundé.

It is a resident of Ligue 1, in the person of Sofiane Boufal (Angers), who came to offer the victory to Morocco of a Vahid Halilhodzic to the angels at the final whistle, he who undoubtedly measures the importance of this first victory in the competition. On the lookout in the Ghanaian area after an involuntary deflection by Thomas Partey, Boufal seized the opportunity to deceive Joe Wollacott with a nice cross strike from the right and bring the first three points to his selection in Group C. The teammates the Ayew brothers are already under pressure before challenging Gabon on January 14.

The players: Sadio Mané already carries Senegal, Naby Keita victorious with Guinea

Before Morocco, the Teranga Lions also waited until the last moments to launch their CAN 2022. The very last seconds, even. On a final strike from Pape Gueye in the 97th minute (!) Of the game, Kelvin Madzongwe is the author of an unfortunate tackle which sees the leather bouncing on his arm. Cruel penalty for the Zimbabweans, who see Sadio Mané advance in front of their goalkeeper Petros Mhari. The Liverpool player does not miss the boat and offers his team the winning goal for this first Group B match, where they had to deal with 11 players absent (out of a list of 28) due to positive Covid tests and resort to their third goalie, Seny Dieng.

“We expected this kind of match, the African Cup of Nations is a complicated competition”, recalled Mané after the match. “I think during the first 25 minutes we played well but we lacked realism. We managed to mentally manage and until the end we believed in it. We knew how to do what was necessary even with our absentees, these three points are very important. “

Another Reds player was brilliant on Monday with his selection. Midfielder Naby Keita, one of the few Guinean players not affected by the Covid before the meeting (five absent: Mikaël Dyrestam, Seydouba Soumah, Fodé Camara, Mory Konaté and Morgan Guilavogui) was elected man of the match against Malawi (1-0). The captain of the national Sily is not, however, the one who turned the match upside down in the 35th minute: it was Toulouse left side Issiaga Sylla who allowed Guinea to start this CAN with a success.

Jürgen Klopp’s two strong men in Liverpool, Keita and Mané, now have a meeting on Friday at 2 p.m. for a crucial match in this group B.

The first: the Comoros have not been unworthy but bow to Gabon

132nd world nation, recognized by Fifa in 2005, the Comoros archipelago, 870,000 inhabitants, experienced a moment of history on Monday. For the first time qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, the selection coached by Amir Abdou was close to hooking Denis Bouanga’s Gabon in Yaoundé. A single goal, scored by Aaron Boupendza from a narrow-angle strike in the 16th minute, saw the Panthers claim victory. A more than welcome success for the selection, private of Aubameyang and Lemina, positive for Covid-19, and whose federation was affected by sexual abuse scandals a few weeks ago.


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