AFCON 2023 Day 11 Reviews: Angola top Group D as toothless Fennec Foxes crash out of the Africa Cup of Nations
(Made In Africa Sport) – It has been entertainment like we’ve never seen in Cote d’Ivoire, as the group stage fixtures have seen more drama than most competitions ever witness. From host country Cote d’Ivoire’s 4 – 1 loss to Equatorial Guinea to the Black Stars’ emotional exit, the Africa Cup of Nations (2023) has been quite the rollercoaster ride.
Angola is the latest country to make the headlines with their qualification news, as the Black Antelopes eased past Burkina Faso in a 2 – 0 win to top Group D with seven points. Goals from Agostinho Mabululu in the 36th minute and substitute Zini in stoppage time sealed the top spot for Angola while the Stallions of Burkina Faso finished in second-place with four points.
2019 AFCON winners Algeria were unceremoniously sent home, as a 1 – 0 loss to Mauritania was a summary of the decline in the Fennec Foxes’ ranks. Yali Dellahi’s goal in the 37th minute was enough to grant the underdogs at the Peace Stadium, as the Algerians’ wastefulness in front of goal cost them qualification. Chance after chance fell for the Fennec Foxes from their superior gameplay, but it was Mauritania that went closest to doubling their advantage in stoppage, as the crossbar denied Ibnou Ba from six yards.
The Teranga Lions took maximum points from their group stage games, as they completed the round with a 2 – 0 victory over fellow West Africans Guinea. Substitutes Abdoulaye Seck and Iliman Ndiaye found the back of the net in the second half to help the 2021 AFCON winners on to the last 16, and we might see Senegal take on Burkina Faso in the first knockout round.
Cameroon came in second for Group C, as they ground out a 3 – 2 win over Gambia in a thrilling second half. Georges-Kevin Nkoudou went close to scoring in the first half, but his powerful half-volley struck the crossbar from less than ten yards out. It was Karl Toko-Ekambi who broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, glancing a header from six yards to give the Indomitable Lions the lead.
Gambia responded in the 72nd minute, as Ablie Jallow side-footed Alieu Fadera’s cross to level matters. It all got interesting from there, as the Peace Stadium saw three goals in the space of five minutes, as substitute Ebrima Colley put Gambia ahead with his first few touches. James Gomez got unlucky two minutes later, diverting a low cross into his own net under pressure to hand Cameroon the momentum.
The five-time AFCON winners gave it all they had from there, and got their reward in the first minute of stoppage time, as Christopher Wooh headed home emphatically from Nkoudou’s corner to snatch a win for the Cameroonians. The Gambians looked to have equalized deep into stoppages but VAR ruled out the goal for a handball inside the box. It has been an exciting outing for Gambia, who were particularly unlucky in their last two games, but the journey ends there for the Scorpions.
That was interesting! 🤩
The results of today’s #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 games 👇 pic.twitter.com/tq55lAmuzZ
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 23, 2024
The Guineans can’t rule out their AFCON 2023 journey just yet, as they finished in third-place with four points and can still progress to the next round depending on how the other groups end. Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon, Angola, and Burkina Faso are already in the knockouts and we will have our other eight teams figured by the end of today.
One last #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 group-stage day! 🙌
Let’s see how the matches of today end 🔥 pic.twitter.com/0uQwNr9O34
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 24, 2024
