The 2023 African Cup of Nations tournament which kicked off last week Saturday, in Abidjan, Cote D’ Ivoire has been filled with so much suspense, shock, and upset. The big dogs have been put through a rigorous contest by their usual prey.
After the host Nation edged Guinea-Bissau by a 2-0 full-time score in the opening game of the tournament, and defending champion Senegal’s 3-0 victory over The Gambia, the other mighty nations have had a difficult test in their first ties.
It began with the Super Eagles of Nigeria, who had to fight back in a quick response to salvage a point for themselves against a resilient Equatorial Guinea. Nigerians expressed their disappointment towards the National team, but little did they know that other bigger Dogs will encounter the same or worse fate against their prey.
Seven times Champions Egypt could not believe that they would be stunned by Mozambique during the first game of Group B. Despite a good start with an early goal from Mostafa Mohamed, Mozambique came alive equalizing and taking the lead, scoring two goals within two minutes. The Pharaohs had to rely on Mohamed Salah’s late spot kick for a full-time draw of 2-2.
Another shocker game in Group B was the game that saw Cape Verde earn a historical victory over the Black Stars of Ghana. Ghana was submerged by a nation whose population is not up to 600,000. Garry Rodrigues’s stoppage-time strike gave the Blue Sharks all three points against Ghana.
In Group C, ten-man Guinea held Cameroon to a 1-1 full-time draw despite having their player sent off in the first half of the game. In the same group, Angola also forced Algeria to a full-time draw.
In Group E, Deon Hotto’s late winner secured all 3 points for Namibia against Tunisia.
