Afcon Roundup: Mali, Gambia, and Ivory Coast Won in a drama-filled day
It will be a little while before we forget about the AFCON game on January 12, Tunisia played Mali on its opening day and it was a real spectacle.
Tunisia Defeated by Mali
The game most Africansespecially Tunisia would want to forget.
Ibrahima Kone scored the game’s sole goal from the penalty spot just after halftime, but the real entertainment began with 15 minutes remaining. Wahbi Khazri missed his penalty, and the game devolved into chaos.
In the 85th minute, the referee blew the final whistle but afterward resumed after realizing his mistake. El Bilal Toure of Mali was sent off three minutes later, and the game was called off in the 89th minute. There will be no downtime. There’s nothing.
That appeared to be the end of the game, but while the managers were having news conferences, the decision was made to resume the game and play the final few minutes with the fourth official in control. Mali agreed to come out, but Tunisia refused, and that was the end of it.
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Gambia Won First-Ever Afcon Match
The drama continued in the second match when the wrong national anthem was played for Mauritania twice.
Gambia won their first-ever AFCON match against Mauritania.
After just ten minutes, Ablie Jallow scored a wonderful goal from range to help lead his side to the top of Group F.
Ivory Coast Dominate over Guinea
The Ivory Coast defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in the final game of the day.
The Ivorians went ahead inside six minutes thanks to Max Gradel’s impressive strike, and they never looked in danger for the remainder of the game as they pounded away at the home side’s solid defense.
From start to finish, the Ivory Coast dominated the game due to their quality in midfield.
