Category: Sports

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have qualified for the next stage of the Africa Cup of Nations after an initial setback.

The Lions defeated The Gambia 3-2 in their last group game of the competition, courtesy of Karl?Toko?Ekambi in the 56th minute.?

Ekambi?met a cross from Georges-Kevin?N’Koudou?to score with a header, but ?

Gambia came back into the game with an equalizer through?Ablie?Jallow after latched on to a cross into the 18-yard box to shoot into the bottom right corner to score.?

The Scorpions went on to take the lead. Ebrima Colley was laid through by Assan Ceesay with a sumptuous pass. The forward kept his cool to put?the ball into the net.

With exit staring at the face of Cameroon, they responded with intense pressure compelling James Gomez, who tried to clear a ball from his own half, to end up in his own net just two minutes after they took the lead.

Cameroon took the lead once again. Defender Christopher?Wooh?after he met Georges-Kevin?N’Koudou’s cross with a header to score.?

Sourc
e: Ghana News Agency

Angola defeated Burkina Faso 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the last group match played on Tuesday evening.

Cristovao ‘Mabululu’ Paciencia and Ambrosini ‘Zini’ Salvador scored in each half respectively to qualify for the Round of 16 of the competition for the first time since 2010 as hosts.?

With both sides having a fair amount of chances at goal, it was Angola who capitalized in the 36th minute when the dangerous Mabululu headed home to give his side the lead.?

Coming back from the break, the Stallions surged forward but could not break the stubborn Angolan defence.?

Victory was eventually sealed on the stroke of full time by Zini after a stinging shot that rebounded off the keeper found an alert Zini who slotted home to secure the victory.

Angola, and Burkina Faso gain automatic entry into the next phase while Mauritania’s historic win over Algeria sees them record their first-ever TotalEnergies CAF

AFCON win that sends them into the knockout stage as one of th
e best third finishers of the groups.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tom?Sainfait -Gambia Head Coach of The Gambia national team has announced his resignation from the team after their 3-2 defeat to Cameroon in the last group game played on Tuesday evening.

The Gambia lost 3-2 to Cameroon last night, and the outcome of the game means the Scorpions are out of the competition after making historic progress in the last edition in Cameroon.

Speaking at a post-match conference, Coach Saintfait said, ‘This is my last game with the Gambian team, I’m going to stay with them in a few days.?

‘I have thought that this is the right time for me to?resign and move forward and I would like to thank the federation President of Gambia.?I was not surprised because the Ivorians knew they had an advantage to progress if we won and they supported us.

‘There is a rivalry between the two countries as well.?I think it is only one goal that made the difference, we played a better game than we did against Cameroon.

‘Cameroon had really good players and we knew they had experience in a lot of matc
hes and it is only one team that won which is The Gambia. Such games are a victory for us,’ he noted.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mauritania recorded their first-ever AFCON victory on Tuesday evening when they defeated giants Algeria by a lone goal in the last group matches of the competition.

All the odds favoured Algeria to pick their first win in the competition, but Mauritania came to the party, sending their North African opponents packing.??

It was Yali?Dellahi?who controlled a rebound to produce a great strike which deflected to put Mauritania?ahead.

After taking the lead in the 37th minute, Amir Abdou managed situations and defended his lead throughout the game.?

Goalkeeper?Babacar?Niasse?made heroic saves to keep the Lions of?Chinguetti?in the game.?

With three points, Mauritania?are?through to the knockout stage of the competition.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Residents of Kadjebi in the Oti Region have expressed varied views on the two late goals from Mozambique denying Ghana from progressing to the Round 16 at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON), in Abidjan.

While some blamed the Coach for poor selection, others said players were to be blamed for the draw, while others related it to supernatural works.

Mr Edward Akwensi, a resident, told Ghana News Agency (GNA) that Semenyo and Paintsil should not have started the game at the same time since they were both attackers, so both starting was a failure.

He said Andrew Dede Ayew should have been brought earlier and not at the 60th minute and later substituted since old age has caught up with him.

Ms. Regina Dagbatsa, another resident said, ‘I am disappointed in Ghana Team, why should Dede Ayew be brought and for what purpose’.

She said all the goals against the Black Stars were scored at injury time a testament of failure on the back.

She said the ball that resulted in Mozambican’s second goal was a tacit
mistake from Ofori’s indecision after Dede Ayew also created a penalty.

They have caused more harm to Ghana, so they should come home.

Mr Jerold Acquah Frimpong, a soccer fan said Ghana Black Star played well, but the last-minute substitutions were not needed and even if for anything at all, ‘then defenders should be brought to defend the two goals since our opponent, Mozambique is bringing attackers’.

Mr Donnie Tamakloe, another resident relates the defeat to supernatural works, saying the President, Nana Addo Dankwa-Akuffo Addo in terms of football is not a lucky one.

He called for a supernatural investigation to remedy the situation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Cameroon defender, Christopher Wooh has said the team wants to collectively succeed at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, after securing qualification to the Round of 16 of the competition.

Wooh said in a post-match interview that they are not thinking about individual performance but rather what they give collectively.?

‘I’m thinking collectively, and the objective is to win.

‘We are going to be in this competition, and we are going to have the next games and we want good results,’ he added.

Defender, Wooh, however, noted that they have learnt from their past mistakes and were looking forward to making amends in the next round of matches.

‘We knew we do not have to give up; we had to prove that we had the strength to move on and we learnt from our mistakes,’ he said.?

Wooh scored the winner for the Indomitable Lions to seal their knockout qualification in a 4-3 thriller with The Gambia.?

Source: Ghana News Agency

Jesus Lazaro Owono of Equatorial Guinea has revealed how they humiliated host nation Cote D’ Ivoire 4-0 in the final group game on Monday evening.

‘We had a great match tactically; we knew they were going to try to press us. We said to ourselves that if we resisted the first 15 minutes, the match would be for us,’ he revealed.

‘I’m very happy, we did a lot of work. We worked very hard for this match; we knew we were playing Cote d’Ivoire at home.

‘My team had a big match, it showed that it has a big personality,’ the 22-year-old shot-stopper noted.

Owono, who was the ‘Man of the Match’ said he and his teammates intend to continue their efforts to continue to create surprises in the competition.

‘We had two great African teams in our group and proved that we were well prepared.? We will continue to work as we have done so far to go as far as possible in the competition,’ he declared.

Source: Ghana News Agency

In a remarkable display of solidarity, celebrated Ghanaian reggae and dancehall artiste, Samini, has embarked on a journey to Abidjan to fervently back the Ghanaian Black Stars ahead of their upcoming match.

In an interview with the media, he expressed his confidence in the team’s prowess and boldly predicted victory against Mozambique, envisioning a 2-goal triumph.

Upon his arrival at the Midez H and R Hotel in Abidjan, the artiste was greeted with an outpouring of joy and jubilation from ardent fans and supporters.

Known for his passionate commitment to music and national pride, Samini seized the moment to issue a heartfelt appeal to fellow Ghanaians, urging unity and rallying behind the Black Stars.

He emphasized the crucial role of collective support in propelling the team to success.

As anticipation builds for the impending match, Samini’s presence in Abidjan serves as a beacon of encouragement for the Black Stars and the entire nation, fostering a sense of unity and optimism among fans.

Source:
Ghana News Agency