AFCON 2023: Senegal beat Gambia as Cameroon and Algeria end games on a draw

The Teranga Lions of Senegal made a strong statement in their title defense by defeating Gambia 3-0 in the ongoing AFCON 2023 competition. This victory propelled Senegal to the top of the group, earning them maximum points. It was a significant win for Senegal, especially considering the tough competition in the group, which includes five-time winners Cameroon and a resilient Guinea side.

On the other hand, Cameroon had a challenging match against Guinea, needing to wait until the 88th minute to equalize. Guinea took an early lead, taking advantage of some poor defending from Olivier Kemen. Despite Cameroon’s efforts to clear the danger, Kemen’s mistake allowed Mohamed Bayo to score the opening goal.

Guinea faced further difficulties when Francois Kamano was sent off for a reckless challenge later in the half. Cameroon capitalized on their numerical advantage in the second half, with Georges-Kevin N’Koudou delivering an excellent cross that Frank Magri headed in for their first shot on target. Although Cameroon dominated possession for the remainder of the game, they struggled to find a breakthrough until the 88th minute when Karl Toko Ekambi’s shot was saved.

In another match, Algeria ended their game against Angola with a 1-1 draw. Algeria dominated the game from the start and had their first scoring opportunity in the ninth minute. However, Neblu made a great save to deny Youcef Belaili’s shot after intercepting Riyad Mahrez’s through ball. Nine minutes later, Algeria finally broke the deadlock when Baghdad Bounedjah capitalized on Belaili’s long ball and scored with a simple lob. In the 25th minute, Bounedjah almost doubled Algeria’s lead with an acrobatic strike, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Despite their efforts, Algeria had to settle for a draw in the end.