Senegal is not the type to miss its entry into the competition in the African Cup of Nations (CAN). Since its absence from the 2013 edition and its return to the continental competition during the next one, the Teranga Lions selection always wins its first match of the tournament. She succeeded again without firing a shot, Tuesday December 23, against Botswana (3-0) in the Ibn-Batouta stadium in Tangier (Morocco).
Pape Thiaw’s team, France’s first opponent at the 2026 World Cup, could even have won much more widely without the twelve saves made by Goitseone Phoko, the astonishing Botswana goalkeeper. She was “satisfied” with the three goals scored by Nicolas Jackson (40th, 58th), the Bayern Munich striker, and Cherif Ndiaye (90th). The Lions of Teranga thus, during this first meeting, assumed the status of great favorites which they share with Morocco, host country of this 35th edition of the CAN.
Winner of the competition for the first time in 2021, Senegal wishes to rectify the situation after an early elimination, in the round of 16, during CAN 2023, in Ivory Coast. For this, the Senegalese selection, still led by Sadio Mané, can count on a fairly remarkable depth of bench: replacements, the Monegasque Lamine Camara and the Parisian Ibrahim Mbaye thus made their entry in the second period.
The DRC saved by a technical problem
Earlier, the first match of this third day of the CAN, also counting for Group D of Senegal, was won by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against Benin (1-0), in Rabat. Sluggish, the DRC benefited from the twist of fate which befell its opponent: at the hour mark, the referee of the match, Abongile Tom, could have awarded a penalty to the Beninese following a handball from Chancel Mbemba, the Congolese captain, in his area. However, the man with the whistle had not spotted this fault and the connection with the video assistance refereeing (VAR) malfunctioned at this precise moment of the match.
Previously, the South African referee had denied a goal to Cédric Bakambu and the DRC thanks to the intervention of a VAR, this time operational. In the 74th minute, fifteen minutes after Chancel Mbemba’s handball, the referee signaled to the players that the technical link had been re-established. “A hand in the area which should have been penalized with a penaltysighed Gernot Rohr, the Benin coach after the match. I regret these technological problems, (…) it’s a shame for such a big tournament. »
The match, which started in an almost empty Al-Medina stadium, ended in front of much fuller stands. As during the match between Egypt and Zimbabwe on Monday evening, free tickets were distributed to those present around the stadium to fill the aisles. Fifteen minutes from the end of the match, the announcer announced the presence of 6,073 spectators in the stadium… before withdrawing and announcing a number of 13,073. Apart from the opening match between Morocco and the Comoros, Sunday evening, the CAN organizers are struggling, in fact, to fill up the various enclosures at the start of the competition.
Double from Elias Achouri for Tunisia
Two Group C meetings also took place on Tuesday. Tunisia won 3-1 against Uganda, in Rabat, for its entry into the running. The Eagles of Carthage, seeking a second title in an African Cup since their home title in 2004, clearly dominated the match against the Ugandans who were making their return to the continental competition after missing the last two editions.
Sami Trabelsi’s men opened the scoring in the 10the minute, in pouring rain and on the waterlogged lawn of the Moulay Abdellah stadium: after a corner from the very lively Hannibal Mejbri, Frankfurt midfielder Ellyes Skhiri found the Ugandan net with a beautiful header (1-0). Elias Achouri also struck half an hour later with a superb volley after an ultra-precise cross from Ali Abdi (2-0, 40e).
In the second half, when the rain had stopped, Achouri opportunely took a ball into the area for a double (3-0, 65e). Denis Omedi reduced the gap for Uganda in added time (90+ 2).
Tunisia takes first place in the group ahead of Nigeria, who earlier won 2-1 against Tanzania. The two leaders will face each other on Saturday in Fez
