In the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023, Senegal maintained their lead defense with a hard-fought victory over Cameroon on Friday night at Yamoussoukro’s Charles Konan Banny Stadium.
It was going to be a big night for both teams, and Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr gave them an early lead.
With 16 minutes remaining, the 25-year-old gave Senegal the lead with a sneaky ball inside the box. He then pounced on a rebound with joy, scoring the first goal of the match.
The Teranga concluded the first half in control and were able to double their lead in the second half.
This time, Sarr took the lead as he teed off a flawless pass to Habib Dailo, who was waiting patiently to sneak in the cushioning goal for the Senegalese Terranga Lions.
In the 83rd minute, Jean Charles Castelleto of Cameroon headed home a cross from Oliver Ntcham to cut Senegal’s lead in half. The score was now 2-1.
After scoring, the Indomitable Lions put more pressure on Senegal.
Sadio Mane scored Senegal’s third goal of the evening and his first of the tournament with just two minutes remaining in the match.
After becoming the recipient of a pass from Pape Gueye to score, he made no mistakes. Andre Onana was thoroughly defeated.
With the victory, Senegal has advanced to the knockout stage with six points from their first two games.
In their final matchup against Gambia on Tuesday, Cameroon must prevail in order to advance to the knockout stage.
On Tuesday, January 23, Senegal and Guinea will play their final group game at Yamoussoukro’s Charles Konan Banny Stadium.
After failing to advance past the group stage in their first three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, Senegal has done so in their last four.
Since the beginning of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations competition (P9 – W6 D3), Senegal has not lost a single game; during this time, they have the second-best offensive (15 goals, only Cameroon have scored more with 16).
Cameroon has lost its first Africa Cup of Nations group stage match since 2015 against Côte d’Ivoire (0–1). In the interim, they have won four and drawn six of these games.
Cameroon has missed two consecutive first-half shots at the Africa Cup of Nations, marking the first occasion since Opta began gathering this data (2010).
Today, their lone attempt on goal came from Jean-Charles Castelleto, who scored in the 83rd minute.
● In the current Africa Cup of Nations, Ismaïla Sarr has contributed to three of Senegal’s six goals (1 goal, two assists).
● In the history of Senegal, Sadio Mané is the only player to score in all four Africa Cup of Nations competitions (2019, 2019, 2021, and 2023).
