The Teranga Lions will have to wait to secure their ticket to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Round of 16. Dominant but lacking precision – much like the host nation, Morocco, the day before against Mali – Senegal was held to a draw (1-1) by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Saturday, December 27 in Tangier. Tied at the top of Group D (4 points), both teams will play for qualification on Tuesday in the final group stage matches.
Dominance does not guarantee victory. Sadio Mané’s teammates, ineffective against the Congolese goal, learned this on Saturday. Conversely, while his team was being dominated, Cédric Bakambu opened the scoring with a poacher’s finish (0-1, 61′), at the end of a Congolese move that was first well-orchestrated, then poorly cleared by the Senegalese defense.
Less than ten minutes later, Sadio Mané took it upon himself to level the score (1-1, 69′), following a relentless run by young Parisian Ibrahim Mbaye. Although his shot was saved by Lionel Mpasi-Nzau, the DRC goalkeeper, the ball fell to Sadio Mané, who had time to control it before sending it into the net. Facing Benin and Botswana respectively, Senegal and the DRC will attempt to qualify on Tuesday (8 PM).
First Win for Benin
Because Benin secured the first win in its AFCON history a few hours earlier. Beaten by the DRC in their first match (0-1), due to an error by defender Yohan Roche, the Cheetahs – their new nickname, having retired “the Squirrels” – saw the same full-back score the only goal of the match against Botswana (1-0).
One goal was enough for Gernot Rohr’s men to claim their first-ever AFCON win. Although they qualified for the quarter-finals in the 2019 edition, their journey then was marked only by draws. “We are determined to make history in a positive way. We want to break this bad trend,” assured captain Steve Mounié before the tournament. That is now done, and Benin can hope to qualify by beating Senegal in the final match.
Nigeria Qualifies, Uganda and Tanzania Draw
In Group C, Uganda and Tanzania – who will co-host AFCON 2027 – could not be separated (1-1) in their second match of the tournament, after losing to Tunisia (1-3) and Nigeria (1-2) respectively. The two neighbors have one point after two matchdays, compared to six for group leaders Nigeria, and three for Tunisia, currently in second.
After a rather dull first half, Tanzania took the lead from a Simon Msuva penalty (59th), but were caught by Uganda twenty minutes later thanks to a diving header from Uche Ikpeazu. The match heated up in the final minutes, during which either nation could have taken the lead. Uganda first won a penalty, but Allan Okello shot over. Then Tanzanian Charles M’Mombwa, alone in front of an empty net, missed his left-footed shot.
This draw suits no one except Nigeria, who qualified for the tournament’s Round of 16 after their victory over Tunisia (3-2). Dominant from the start, the Super Eagles created numerous chances and left no scraps for their opponents on the night.
Victor Osimhen, involved in every promising move early on, opened the scoring for Nigeria just before halftime. Eric Chelle’s men even extended their lead after the break, thanks to their captain Wilfred Ndidi (50th), before Ademola Lookman (67th) made it three.
Yet, trailing by three goals and non-existent until then, the Carthage Eagles woke up in the final fifteen minutes of the match. Montassar Talbi first headed in a free-kick delivered by Hannibal Mejbri (74th), then Ali Abdi converted a penalty with a powerful strike under the bar (87th). Sami Trabelsi’s men could even have equalized at the death, first through Ferjani Sassi, whose slightly over-curled header ended up at the foot of Stanley Nwabali’s post, and then through Ismael Gharbi, who leaned back a little too much on his right-footed shot. The Tunisians will have to finish the job on Tuesday against Tanzania if they want to secure their ticket to the AFCON Round of 16.