Cameroonian Salomon Banga set a trend of defenders scoring Wednesday as his country and Mali moved closer to the African Nations Championship (CHAN) quarter-finals, Burkina Faso remained in contention and Zimbabwe were eliminated.
Thanks to their result against the Brave Warriors, Guinea lead their group that also parades Zambia and Tanzania.
Notwithstanding their good start, Gnagna made it clear that it is still very early to rate them amongst the tournament’s favourites.
“As a team, we must treat every match like a final because this will help us reach our goal,” he continued.
“I am also glad that we have very passionate fans that came to the stadium on Tuesday and cheered for us.”
Guinea will earn a place in the quarter-final should they defeat the Chipolopolo in their next outing on January 23. Zambia made a winning start to the competition, defeating the Taifa Stars 2-0 courtesy of second-half strikes from Collins Sikombe and Emmanuel Chabula.
Zimbabwe coach Zdravko Logarusic has refused to blame any attempted intimidation by Cameroon for the Warriors’ opening Chan defeat after a bat carcass was placed on the pitch ahead of the match.
Hosts Cameroon held by Mali in CHAN thriller
Hosts Cameroon and Mali drew 1-1 in an action-packed match at the African Nations Championship clash in Yaounde on Wednesday.
The home side raced into the lead when Salomon Banga rose highest in the 6th minute to head home from a free-kick in the Group A match.
It was the Indomitable Lions captain and Cotonsport defenderâs second goal of the competition after scoring in the tournamentâs opener on Saturday.
The Eagles responded almost immediately with Issaka Samake sweetly curling in a free-kick seven minutes later for the equalizer.
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ð¨ð² The entertainment ends after a 1ï¸â£-1ï¸â£ draw between the two nations ð²ð±#TotalCHAN2020 | #CMRMLIpic.twitter.com/B5rPiG01aB #TotalCHAN2020 (@CAF Online) January 20, 2021