AFCON2023: Defending champions Senegal get title defence underway against The Gambia

Africa’s premier football competition is poised to continue on Monday with three matches lined up for the day.On Monday, Veteran forward Garry Rodrigues scored in added time to get Cape Verde a famous win over Ghana while Egypt needed a last-minute spot-kick from Mohammed Salah to pick a share of the spoils against minnows Mozambique.In the early kickoff Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea played out to a one-all draw.That’s all past us now as the focus is on Monday action.Senegal vs GambiaThe first game of the day, slated for 5 PM EAT kick-off, will witness defending champions Senegal clash with the Gambia at the Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro.Group C looks like it could be one of the most competitive in the competition, featuring five-time champions Cameroon and regulars Guinea, who face off later in the day.This will be the first encounter between Senegal and the Gambia at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations. Excluding the CAF African Nations Championship, Senegal and Gambia last faced each other in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup: both games ended in draws (0-0; 1-1).The Lions of Teranga approach the match looking to be the only fourth nation in the history of Africa of Nations to successfully retain the trophy after Egypt (1957, 1959; 2006, 2008, 2010), Ghana (1963, 1965), and Cameroon (2000, 2002).Since Egypt claimed their third consecutive title back in 2010, no team has managed to defend the AFCON title, but Senegal making their 17th appearance at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations will be aiming to win back-to-back AFCON tournaments, although no AFCON defending champion has progressed further than the round of 16 in the last six editions of the tournament.Despite a slow start in the 2021 continental competition, which included scoring just one goal and playing out two goalless draws in the group stages, Senegal shed the tag of underachievers by winning the tournament at the expense of Egypt.The Lions of Teranga are back and hungry for more triumph! 🇸🇳🦁@GaindeYi | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/PAEVIIPOGf— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 11, 2024 Since then, The Lions of Teranga have gone from strength to strength, boasting of a star-studded team that features the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Serge Aurier, Kalidou Koulibaly, and the two-time African Player of the Year, Sadio Mane.Despite significant chopping and changing in recent months, Aliou Cisse’s side came into Africa’s elite competition in excellent shape, winning six of their last 10 matches in all competitions and losing only once in that time.Senegal have won their opening game in each of the last four CAF Africa Cup of Nations (v Ghana in 2015, v Tunisia in 2017, v Tanzania in 2019, v Zimbabwe in 2022).Since 2017, the defending champions have kept more clean sheets than any other team in the Africa Cup of Nations (13 in 18 matches).Gambia will be making just their second appearance in the AFCON and will have fond memories of their debut tournament when they pulled off an against-the-odds victory over African powerhouse Tunisia en route to the quarter-finals.However, the Scorpions’ form in the buildup to this competition has been far from impressive, as they faced setbacks with defeats against Burundi and the Ivory Coast in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign at the end of last year.In addition, their trip to the Ivory Coast for this competition was far from routine as their flight was forced to U-turn shortly after departure due to a lack of oxygen in the aircraft, which some players have said felt like a near-death experience.Despite reaching the quarter-finals in AFCON 2021, Gambia never scored more than one goal in their five matches (W3 D1 L1). All three of their victories were by a 1-0 scoreline.##NAJAVA_MECA_7796227##Cameroon vs GuineaFive-time AFCON Champions Cameroon take to the field at 8 PM aiming to secure their first title since 2017 and better on their third-place finish in 2021 when they take on Guinea at the Stade Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro.This will be the third encounter between Cameroon and Guinea at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, all taking place in the group stages with the last two meet-ups ending in a stalemate.Cameroon are making their 21st appearance in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, a tally only bettered by Egypt (26), Côte d’Ivoire (25) and Ghana (24). Egypt (7) are the only team to have won the tournament on more occasions than The Indomitable Lions (5) whereas Guinea are taking part in their 14th Africa Cup of Nations. It’s the most appearances for a team at the tournament without ever winning it – the closest they came was in 1976 when Guinea finished second to Morocco in what was then a final group stage.Despite appearing 13 times at the continental stage, the Kaba Diawara-coached Gambia have won only two of their last 13 matches at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (D6 L5), a 2-0 win against Burundi in 2019 and 1-0 against Malawi in 2022.Despite Cameroon’s record in this competition, The National Elephants have been the most successful in the head-to-head battle in recent times, winning the last two encounters in 2021 and 2017.##NAJAVA_MECA_7796221##Algeria vs Angola Algeria and Angola begin their quest for continental glory on Monday when they go head to head in Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations at the Stade de la Paix in the late kick-off slated at 11 PM EAT.The North African powerhouse enter Ivory Coast in search of a third AFCON title, while the Palancas Negras have their sights on reaching the knockout stages for the first time since 2010.The duo is facing each other for the second time at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations. Their only previous encounter produced a goalless draw in the group stages of the 2010 editionHaving cruised through the qualifiers, Algeria are set to make a sixth consecutive AFCON appearance, their longest streak at the tournament since featuring in seven straight editions between 1980 and 1992.Currently ranked 30th in the world, the Desert Warriors will be aiming to avoid a repeat of their 2021 embarrassment when they floundered in their title defense after a dismal group-stage run.After clinching the continental crown in 2019, Algeria failed to win any of their three games in Group E, playing out a goalless draw with Sierra Leone in the group opener before suffering consecutive defeats against Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast.Djamel Belmadi’s men are one of seven nations to win multiple AFCON titles (2), first in 1990 when they beat Nigeria 1-0 in the final on home soil, and most recently in 2019, when Baghdad Bounedjah scored the only goal of the final to claim a 1-0 victory over Senegal.Algeria heads into Monday’s group curtain-raiser unbeaten in their last 13 outings across all competitions, claiming three draws and 10 wins, including successive victories over Somalia and Mozambique in the World Cup qualifiers, where they currently lead the way in Group GAFCON 2023: The group of confusion gives us another mad game as Cape Verde stun the Black StarsMaking their ninth AFCON appearance, Angola are returning to the continental showpiece for the first time since 2019, having failed to progress from the qualifiers in the last two editionsTasked with leading the Central Africans is Portuguese tactician Pedro Goncalves, who coached the nation’s Under-17 and Under-20 set-ups before his senior appointment in August 2019.The 47-year-old watched from the dugout as his side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Bahrain at the Police Officers Club Stadium in their final warm-up friendly last Wednesday.Angola, who have progressed from the AFCON group stages only twice, will have to show their mettle in Ivory Coast, as they contend with Burkina Faso and two-time African champions Algeria and Mauritania.They head into Monday’s game unbeaten in their last five opening games claiming one win and four draws with their last opening-day defeat coming in 2006, when they were beaten 3-1 by Cameroon.##NAJAVA_MECA_7796150##AFCON 2023- GROUP STAGESaturday Ivory Coast – Guinea B. 2-0 (1-0)/Fofana 4, Krasso 58/SundayNigeria – Equatorial Guinea 1-1 (1-1)/Osimhen 38 – Salvador 36/Egypt – Mozambique 2-2 (1-0)/Mohamed 2, Salah 90+7 pen – Witi 55, Bauque 58/Ghana – Cape Verde 1-2 (0-1)/Djiku 56 – Monteiro 17, Rodrigues 90+2/Monday 17.00: (1.40) Senegal (4.60) Gambia (10.5)20.00: (2.15) Cameroon (3.25) Guinea (3.90)23.00: (1.45) Algeria (4.10) Angola (8.50)Tuesday 17.00: (1.75) Burkina Faso (3.60) Mauritania (5.70)20.00: (1.40) Tunisia (4.60) Namibia (10.5)23.00: (2.15) Mali (3.25) S.Africa (3.90)Wednesday 20.00: (1.30) Morocco (5.80) Tanzania (12.0)23.00: (2.40) Dr Congo (3.20) Zambia (3.40)***odds are subject to change***

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