{"id":31190,"date":"2022-01-13T14:56:12","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T14:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/?p=31190"},"modified":"2022-01-13T14:56:12","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T14:56:12","slug":"afcon-2021-first-round-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/afcon-2021-first-round-review\/","title":{"rendered":"AFCON 2021: First Round Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Africa\u2019s biennial competition, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) came off as planned following several weeks of intense speculations and doubts about its postponement over the widespread of the novel virus, coronavirus, and its mitigating impact on several economies and football as a global sport.\u00a0<\/b><br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\" data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tournament started with its usual fun and buzz with several nationals travelling far and near to support and cheer their teams on to victory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon didn\u2019t disappoint as host tournament, as a veteran striker, Vincent Aboubakar lifted the spirit of the home fans with two penalties after they went behind a Gustavo Sangare goal.\u00a0 In the other game, Cape Verde gave off a resounding performance to stick a solitary goal past Ethiopia to claim their first 3 points of the tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senegal, one of the tournament favorites, kicked off their campaign as they dispatched Zimbabwe by a goal to nil whiles Guinea got the better of Malawi in the other Group B encounter.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\" data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A clash of heavyweights saw Ghana welcome Morocco to what failed to live up to the billing as the former were left to lick their wounds in a 1- 0 loss following their ill preparation prior to the competition, Gabon took full opportunity to claim 3 points as they beat debutants Comoros Islands.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fantastic 30th-minute<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0strike from Kelechi Iheanacho was all that the two-time AFCON Champions needed to tame the record holders, Egypt whiles minnows Sudan and Guinea Bissau had to settle for a draw.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cote d&#8217;Ivoire took full advantage of pre-tournament favorites Algeria\u2019s goalless draw against Sierra Leone to edge Equatorial Guinea aiding them to the summit of the table in Group E.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mali showed clear superiority in the battle of the \u201ceagles\u201d against Tunisia beating them in a narrow win to pick all 3 maximum points, Gambia also tamed Mauritania in the other group fixture.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7515973527815049\" data-ad-slot=\"5197133662\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa\u2019s biennial competition, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) came off as planned following several weeks of intense speculations and doubts about its postponement over the widespread of the novel virus, coronavirus, and its mitigating impact on several economies and football as a global sport.\u00a0 The tournament started with its usual fun and buzz with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":31191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16915,8417],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-31190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afcon-2021","8":"category-featured"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/r959528_1296x729_16-9-818x490-1.jpg?fit=818%2C490&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8jzHl-874","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39531,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/afcon-2023-thomas-partey-faces-afcon-2023-scare-after-latest-injury\/","url_meta":{"origin":31190,"position":0},"title":"Thomas Partey faces AFCON 2023 scare after latest injury.","author":"Raphael Bannerman-Quartey","date":"November 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Ghana international Thomas Partey is racing against time to be fit for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after he recently suffered a new injury blow. \u00a0 Partey, 30, underwent a specialized procedure for a thigh injury, putting his participation in the tournament in serious doubt. READ MORE :\u00a0SEE: Full\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AFCON 2023&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AFCON 2023","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/afcon-2023\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/thomas.jpg?fit=211%2C239&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30889,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/breaking-news-european-club-association-refuse-to-release-players-for-afcon\/","url_meta":{"origin":31190,"position":1},"title":"Breaking News: European Club Association refuse to release players for AFCON","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"December 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2021 AFCON tournament is in doubt as the European Club Association writes to the Confederation of African Football informing them that they have no intention of releasing their African players for the tournament taking place in Cameroon in January 2022. In a letter written to FIFA and CAF, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;African Football&quot;","block_context":{"text":"African Football","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/african-football\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ZULU-6.jpg?fit=1000%2C700&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ZULU-6.jpg?fit=1000%2C700&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ZULU-6.jpg?fit=1000%2C700&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ZULU-6.jpg?fit=1000%2C700&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18242,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/caf-u20-afcon-four-senegal-players-team-tournament\/","url_meta":{"origin":31190,"position":2},"title":"CAF U20 AFCON: Four Senegal players in team of the tournament","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"February 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"CAF have revealed the Best Eleven in the 2019 U20 Cup of Nations with Senegal dominating the lineup. The Eleven players were made up of outstanding talents from Burundi, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa and Niger. Youssouph Dabo was named coach of the tournament. https:\/\/twitter.com\/CAF_Online\/status\/1097208789164609538","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAF U20 AFCON&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAF U20 AFCON","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/caf-u20-afcon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CAF U20 AFCON: Four Senegal players in team of the tournament","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/xi.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/xi.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/xi.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/xi.jpg?fit=1000%2C1000&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21924,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/afcon-2019-var-used-quarter-finals-starting-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":31190,"position":3},"title":"AFCON 2019:  VAR to be used from quarter-finals starting today","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"July 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"AFCON 2019: VAR to be used from quarter-finals starting today The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system will be introduced from the quarter-final stage of the Africa Cup of Nations. It was originally planned to use VAR from the semi-final stage but it will now be brought in from the last-eight\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AFCON 2019&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AFCON 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/afcon-2019\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AFCON 2019: VAR to be used from quarter-finals starting today","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/VAR.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/VAR.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/VAR.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/VAR.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/VAR.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37735,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/u-23-afcon-black-meteors-arrive-in-morocco-safely-for-u-23-afcon-tournament\/","url_meta":{"origin":31190,"position":4},"title":"U-23 AFCON: Black Meteors arrive in Morocco safely for U-23 AFCON tournament","author":"Selasi Fiawoyi","date":"June 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Ghana's Black Meteors have arrived in Morocco\u00a0 for U-23 AFCON tournament Last night, the Black Meteors arrived in Morocco to participate in the 2023 U23 African Cup of Nations (AFCON). The delegation, consisting of players, technical staff, and officials, reached Rabat after completing their pre-tournament training in Cairo. During their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;African Football&quot;","block_context":{"text":"African Football","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/african-football\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Black-Meteors.jpeg?fit=1024%2C744&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Black-Meteors.jpeg?fit=1024%2C744&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Black-Meteors.jpeg?fit=1024%2C744&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Black-Meteors.jpeg?fit=1024%2C744&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20964,"url":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/ghana-black-stars-held-south-africa-pre-afcon-friendlies\/","url_meta":{"origin":31190,"position":5},"title":"Ghana Black Stars held by South Africa in Pre-AFCON friendlies","author":"Clinton Eleto","date":"June 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Ghana Black Stars held by South Africa in Pre-AFCON friendlies Ghana Black Stars were held to a 0-0 draw by South Africa Bafana Bafana in a pre-AFCON friendly that took place in Dubai where the Black Stars are camping ahead of the tournament. The Black Stars couldn't beat the strong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AFCON 2019&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AFCON 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/category\/afcon-2019\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ghana Black Stars held by South Africa in Pre-AFCON friendlies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/GhanavSouth.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/GhanavSouth.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/GhanavSouth.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/GhanavSouth.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31192,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31190\/revisions\/31192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saharafootball.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}