(2.75) TUNISIA (2.75) MALI (3.00)Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles and Mali’s “Les Aigles”, The Eagles, will be seeking to outfly each other when the two sides meet for the opening Group F match at the ongoing AFCON 2021 in Cameroon.The two teams were in the same group in the 2019 edition, Group E, and played to a one-all draw courtesy of goals from Diadie Samassekou and Wahbi Khazri who are still in the current squads set to do duty today.This is the 20th time that Tunisia is participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, their 15th in a row, the back-to-back record being a new record in the history of the tournament while it will be the 12th one for Mali whose best finish was a runners up position in 1972 after losing to Congo in the final, in Cameroon.#AFCON2021 Group F🇹🇳 Tunisia will be among the favorites to go far at AFCON & top Group F, followed closely by 🇲🇱 Mali who have risen steadily.🇲🇷 Mauritania may fancy a best placed 3rd place considering their rise over time. The group is completed by🇬🇲 Gambia. pic.twitter.com/7j7XxoV1Jj— Laduma Analytics (@AnalyticsLaduma) January 8, 2022 The Carthage Eagles will be eyeing their second title, eighteen years after doing that at home in 2004. In addition, they will be seeking to go past the quarterfinals for the second time since their maiden title win.Mali come into this game boasting of impressive stats, having not lost against Tunisia and having not lost any of their opening matches in the 11 editions they have participated in the tournament.Tunisia’s coach Mondher Kebaier has his eyes on starting the competition on a good note in the hotly contested match, assuring that his side will give their best.“It would be a hotly contested competition. It is very important to start the competition on a good note. We are playing against a good team in Mali, and we are going to give our best. We will stick to our game and surely we are eyeing the trophy.” he said.Moussa Djenepo is ready for tomorrow as Mali face Tunisia in their first AFCON game. 📸: @mouss_djenepo#MoussaDjenepo #Mali #AFCON #12MAN #FootballNews pic.twitter.com/1ED4Sa7sZo— 12 MANagement (@12manSports) January 11, 2022 Mali’s Coach Mohamed Magassouba prides himself in having the youngest squad in the tournament built around youth ranks graduates in Ibrahima Kone, Diadié Samassékou, and Adama Noss Traoré and will be hoping they can deliver Mali’s first-ever AFCON title.“We are the youngest team in the competition, a team full of enthusiasm that will do everything to shine in this competition. Mali is a team with strong ambitions, and our target is to lift the cup on February 6th. We will play against an experienced Tunisian team, which has strong ambitions, so we will be very careful,” Magassouba said.The match kicks off at 4 PM at Limbe Omnisports and will be the highlight match of the day.(2.70) MAURITANIA (2.75) GAMBIA (3.10)Sophomores Mauritania will be hoping to better their performance in their AFCON after making their debut in 2019, starting with their first group match at the ongoing edition when they face off with debutants Gambia.The regional neighbors will be meeting for the first time at the Africa Cup of Nations, with Gambia’s Scorpions being one of the two teams that are making their debuts at the continental showpiece alongside Comoros.The debutants were the only team to make it through the preliminary round and group stage of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, finishing top of their group ahead of Gabon and will be seeking to be the fourth of the 11 AFCON debutants who have progressed to the knockout stages of the tournament with Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, and Madagascar being the other three in 2012, 2013, and 2019 respectively.Mauritania have the upper hand in this game, not only on the head-to-head record but also in the fact that they have had a taste of playing at the AFCON main event before.🆕 HISTORICAL! 🇬🇲 Gambia are in the #TotalEnergiesAFCON for the first time ever as top of group D! 🔥@TheGambiaFF pic.twitter.com/SNaNqjwwTv— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 3, 2022 16-year-old Lekweiry Beyatt, who happens to be the tournament’s young player, could earn his cameo appearance, getting capped in the process in this game.Mauritania’s Coach Didier Gomes Da Rosa is satisfied with his team’s build-up to the tournament and is hopeful that they can bring a breath of fresh air to the competition.”I’m satisfied with our preparation in Abu Dhabi. We played 2 friendlies, and we are ready to start our campaign. I benefit from the work done by Corentin Martins, who laid the foundations for this progressive success. Now we had to find momentum, our goal is to be at least in the round of 16. We are calm, realistic, we have to show humility, we will bring a breath of fresh air to this AFCON. Gambia is a good team with very big individuals, it is not a team to be neglected, and they can be the tournament’s surprise,” he said.The Scorpions coach Tom Saintfiet says they are out to inflict stings in the tournament and come into the competition without any form of pressure.“We have ambitions, and we enter this AFCON with delight. In 51 years, Gambia have not played in an international competition. We will start this competition without pressure. The atmosphere is fantastic. A whole country is concerned. Gambia has fantastic young footballers who want to appear in front of the world. We are not here for tourism but to represent this young nation,” Saintfiet said.The match kicks off at 7 PM at Limbe Omnisports Stadium.(18.0) EQUATORIAL GUINEA (5.90) IVORY COAST (1.25)Two-time AFCON winners Ivory Coast will be seeking to start their campaign for a third continental title on a high when they play Equatorial Guinea in the second Group E match.With the first group match having ended in a barren draw, this will be a good chance for either of the two teams to storm the summit of the standings and take control of the group.There has been only one encounter between the two teams in the Africa Cup of Nations, a quarterfinal meeting in 2012 that Côte d’Ivoire won 3-0.Ivory Coast training in Saudi Arabia ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.#AFCON2021 [🌠 @CRTV_web] pic.twitter.com/NSTOZFwnGb— #AFCON2021 (@EricNjiiru) January 4, 2022 This will be the third appearance in the main event for Equatorial Guinea, with their best finish coming in the 2015 edition where they finished fourth, with Ivory Coast emerging winners in the same edition.On their part, The Elephants will be making their 24th appearance and will be looking to top it up with a win.They were dealt a blow on the eve of their first game at the tournament with first-choice goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo being ruled out for doping.Sebastian Haller has been on good form for his club this season, netting 22 times across all competitions, and will be a key player in the hunt for goals in the Ivory Coast side.
