AFCON 2023 Day 3 Review: Senegal asserts dominance as Cameroon, Algeria struggle
(Made In Africa Sport) – The Teranga Lions of Senegal left the continent in little doubt of their abilities after they opened their AFCON 2023 title defense with a comprehensive 3 – 0 victory over fellow West African group members Gambia on Monday, 15 January 2024. 20-year-old sensation Lamine Camara was the star of the show, netting twice to shoot his team to the top of the group standings.
Veteran forward Sadio Mane teed up Pape Gueye for the first goal, as the midfielder slotted home a left-footed drive into the left bottom corner to open the scoring in Yamoussoukro. Gambia’s Ebou Adam saw his yellow card upgraded to a red in the closing stages of the first half, after he clipped Lamine Camara from behind in a moment of madness.
Camara got his first AFCON goal at the first time of asking, collecting a throughball from Ismaila Sarr before coolly side-footing it into the bottom left corner in the 52nd minute. He was on target again in the 86th minute, striking an Iliman Ndiaye pass first-time into the top right corner, sealing the win for Senegal and his statement debut at the AFCON 2023.
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon turned out a tame performance later in the day, as they could only salvage a 1- 1 draw against a determined 10-man Guinea side. Guinea’s Mohammed Bayo profited from terrible defending from the Cameroonians, as he kept his composure to slot his finish under Fabrice Ondoa to put Guinea ahead in the 10th minute.
Guinean captain Francois Kamano saw red in the first half in similar fashion to Ebou Adam, clipping winger Frank Magri from behind in a needless challenge. The winger turned goal scorer for Cameroon in the 51st minute, providing the leveller for the Indomitable Lions on the back of a sumptuous cross from Georges-Kevin Nkoudou. Karl Toko-Ekambi looked to steal a victory for Cameroon in the late stages, but his effort was straight at Ibrahim Kone, who collected the ball after parrying the shot.
The Les Fennecs were unlucky in their 1 – 1 draw with Angola, after enjoying a better show in the first half. Youcef Belaili was at the heart of everything good for Algeria, taking the first sniff at goal before setting up Baghdad Boundjah for the goal in the 18th minute. A lovely weighted pass over the top found Boundjah in some space, and the striker did the rest with an audacious outside-footed finish.
Belaili came close again later in the first half, his right footed shot whistling past the right-hand post in yet another agonizing moment for Les Fennecs. In the Angolan attack, Gelson Dala spurned an opportunity to level matters in the first half, as his tame effort was more pass than shot and didn’t worry anyone. Angola got their equalizer in the 68th minute, as substitute Agostinho Mabululu went down in the box after a challenge from Nabil Bentaleb, and converted the spot-kick moments after to cause more misery for the Algerians.
Both teams upped the intensity of the game after that equalizer, but another goal was not to come for either side. Algeria might have had the superior side, but the Angolans made sure to fight fearlessly till the end.
That was a good #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 day 🙌
Results of today’s encounters. ✅ pic.twitter.com/HWZ19uX2wm
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 16, 2024
Senegal and Cameroon will be facing off in their epic encounter on Thursday, and the Indomitable Lions will have to be a lot sharper than they were on Monday. Next up is the second Group D fixture, where Burkina Faso welcomes Mauritania at the Stade Bouake on Tuesday, January 16 2024, by 3:00 pm.
