Difficult day of playoffs for Cameroon, held in check in Yaoundé, and especially Nigeria, beaten at home by Guinea-Bissau. All the other favorites prevailed on the other grounds of the continent.
Cameroon was hoping for an offensive festival once morest modest Namibia but Peter Shalulile, the top scorer in the South African championship, quickly dashed the hopes of the Indomitable Lions by opening the scoring (26th).
Cameroon managed to equalize thanks to a newcomer, Olivier Kemen. The midfielder of the Turkish club Kayserispor rising higher than everyone else to take a free kick from Kunde Malong (72nd).
Without Karl Toko Ekambi, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and Vincent Aboubakar, Cameroon limited the damage during this third day of the Qualifying and remained in the lead ahead of their opponent and Burundi.
Nigeria beaten in Abuja
Guinea-Bissau created the real surprise of the evening by beating Nigeria 1-0 on Friday in Abuja in the context of qualifying for the African Cup of Nations.
The victory, won on a goal from Mama Baldé (Troyes), is one of the biggest sensations in the history of the qualifiers for continental competition.
In the standings, Guinea-Bissau take control of Group A with a one-point lead over Nigeria.
The Super Eagles, however, lined up at kick-off Napoli striker Victor Osimhen. Author of an extraordinary season with the Italian club, he had nevertheless declared before the match his wish to regain the support of Nigerian fans on the occasion of this first match since the failed qualification for the World Cup in Qatar, once morest the Ghana (1-1).
“We are looking forward to playing the match on Friday. The boys are ready, we have the morale and we will give everything, ”assured the current top scorer in Serie A with 21 goals in 27 days.
“We may have let the country down in the past, but we will do everything to win back the support of the fans,” Osimhen continued.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the next African Cup, which will take place in Ivory Coast and has been postponed to January 2024.
Nigeria will travel next week to Guinea-Bissau for the second leg
Group B:
Cap Vert-Eswatini 0-0
Burkina Faso 1-0 Togo
Group D:
Egypt-Malawi 2-0 Mohamed Salah 20′, Omar Marmoush 45′
Guinea-Ethiopia 2-0 François Kamano 39′, Mohamed Bayo 73′
Group F:
Uganda-Tanzania 0-1 Simon Msuva 68′
Group G:
Mali-Gambia 2-0 Kamory Doumbia
Grope H :
Ivory Coast-Comoros 3-1 Christian Kouamé 29′, Sébastien Haller 61′, Jean-Philippe Krasso 89 – Ibroihim Youssouf 90+3′
Group I:
DRC-Mauritania 3-1 Gael Kakuta 37′, Cedric Bakambu 42′, Arthur Masuaku 67′ – Aly Abeid 55′
Group J:
Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Botswana
Tunisie-Libye 3-0 Youssef Msakni 13′, Ali Maâloul 21 sp, Haythem Jouini 86′
Group K:
South Africa-Liberia 2-2 Lyle Foster 11 sp, 22-Terrence Tisdell 68, Mo Sangaré 90+2
Group L:
Senegal-Mozambique 5-1 Youssouf Sabaly 9′, Sadio Mané 15′, Illiman Ndiaye 32′, Boulaye Dia 39′, Habib Diallo 88′ – Gildo Vilanculos 48′
Source: Africanews
