Category: Sports

By Biwah Bryan

The 2023 AFCON second-group matches exceeded expectations, with teams adjusting their strategies to match the intensity of the competition.

A total of 38 goals were scored in 12 matches, resulting in 7 victories, 5 draws, and 7 defeats with over 32 yellow cards and 1 red card.

Senegal and Cape Verde finished their second group matches already qualifying for the knockout stage with 6 points each in their respective groups.

Cape Verde was the first team to advance to the knockout stage after beating Mozambique 3-0 while the defending champions, Senegal secured their spot with a 3-1 win over Cameroon.

In a surprising turn of events, the Atlas Lions of Morocco ended their match in a 1-1 draw against DR Congo, while Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Ghana failed to secure a win.

The second group matches concluded with a thrilling 4-0 victory for South Africa over Namibia.

The third and final group stage matches will commence on Monday, January 22 with the following fixtures.

Cote d’Ivoire vs Equ
atorial Guinea

Guinea vs Nigeria

Cape Verde vs Egypt

Mozambique vs Ghana

Source: Cameroon News Agency

By Biwah Bryan

The Guinea Football Federation has confirmed the death of six supporters who were celebrating the country’s recent football victory over Gambia at the Africa Cup of Nations.

On Friday January 19, Aguibou Camara scored the only goal, ensuring that Guinea achieved a hard-earned 1-0 victory and boosted their hopes of making it to the knock-out stage of the competition.

This resulted in fans taking to the streets in Conakry, the country’s capital to celebrate in cars and on motorbikes.

Reports say that two vehicles collided at high speed which led to three fatalities with several others being injured in road accidents.

Speaking to the press, Amadou Makadji, media manager for the Guinea Football Federation confirmed that the celebrations had resulted in the tragic loss of six lives and urged fans to celebrate responsibly to avoid further tragedy.

The Guinea Football Federation has called for calmness, to ensure that their fans remain safe and the competition can continue without further loss
of life.

Guinea is set to play their last group game with the indomitable lions of Cameroon on Tuesday January 22.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

By Muluh Alfred

There are only 16 available spots for the knockout stages of the 2023 African Nations Cup and 16 out of 24 teams are expected to compete for a place.

These 16 spots are reserved for the top two teams from each group and the four best third-placed teams from the six groups.

Cameroon currently holds one point and is ranked 3rd place in Group C implying they cannot qualify as first and can only qualify as second or the best third-placed team.

To qualify as second, the Indomitable Lions must achieve the following:

Firstly, they must beat Gambia by one goal and hope for Senegal to beat Guinea with a three-goal margin.

They must beat Gambia by a two-goal margin and hope for Senegal to beat Guinea by a two-goal margin.

They must beat Gambia by a margin of three or more and hope for Senegal to beat Guinea by any score.

Should Guinea get as little as a point from Senegal, then Cameroon can only qualify as the best third-placed team.

As of now, Cameroon is the worst third-placed team among the
six teams currently occupying third place in their respective groups.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Cameroonian MMA fighter Francis Ngannou, has expressed worry about the recent poor form of the Indomitable Lions.

He made a three-paragraph post on Facebook, following Cameroon’s 1-1 draw with Guinea and the 3-1 loss to Senegal in the ongoing AFCON.

For the past two years, the five-time AFCON winners have rarely produced encouraging results. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup and AFCON 2023 qualification tournaments, Rigobert Song only survived last-minute scares.

‘Guys, our greatness is threatened, our name is threatened, the heritage of Roger Milla and Samuel Eto’o is threatened’ Ngannou wrote.

‘We’re gradually losing the capital ‘L’, without which we are no longer Indomitable Lions but just another lion’ he added.

‘It is time to bring back our ferocity, our determination, and our hemle, in order not to be mistaken for others.’

The Indomitable Lions risk getting eliminated from the AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire, if they don’t win their third group stage match against Gambia on Tuesday.

Source: Cameroon News Agenc
y

By Biwah Bryan

Cameroonian defender Fai Collins contributed significantly to Radnicki Nis’ 3-2 victory on his debut with the club against Uzbekistan side Olympic FC on Saturday.

The match which was an international friendly played in Turkey, started with Olympic taking an early lead through Jalolidinov in the seventh minute before Radnicki Nis quickly responded with a goal from David Petrovic, following a well-executed free-kick by Andrija Lukovic, to level the score.

Olympic regained the lead through Odilov, but Radnicki Nis made a comeback, with Andreja Stojanovic scoring an equalizer in the 63rd minute.

The Serbian club’s determination paid off when newcomer Semir Smajlagic secured the winning goal in the 80th minute, following a corner taken by Nemanja Belakovic.

The match marked a promising start for Fai with his new club after having been without a club for several months before securing a move to Radnicki Nis in December.

Fai Collins was recently named in Cameroon’s AFCON 2023 squad, but was lef
t out of the final list.

Radnicki Nis’ next game is set to take place on January 24 against the Czech Republic’s Karvina team. The Serbian Super League side is focused on improving its performance. The club has suffered three defeats, one draw, and a win in its last five games.

Source: Cameroon News Agency