The 33rd African Cup of Nations started with beautiful and amazing scenes during the opening ceremony on Sunday in Cameroon as Vincent Aboubakar and Julio Tavares inspired their nations to wins.
Host, Cameroon, welcomed all 24 teams and their supporters with plenty of fanfare and colour at the Stade Olembe, Yaounde before the Indomitable Lions went on to dominate their counterparts from Burkina Faso, the Stallions, in the opening game of the competition.
The WrapUp:
The host country, Cameroon, defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 thanks to a come from behind win in the tournament opener on Sunday.
Captain, Vincent Aboubakar, converted two first half penalties for the Indomitable Lions to cancel out Sangaré’s stunning opener for the Stallions in a game VAR came to the fore.
Cameroon dominated that opening encounter but found themselves behind as early as the 24th minute when Gustavo Sangaré silenced the home crowd with a stunning goal to put Burkina Faso ahead following a goalkeeping howler from former Ajax goalkeeper, Andre Onana.
The Indomitable Lions had to work hard for the win but have the Burkina Babes to thank after two penalty gifts from the Stallions courtesy of two clumsy tackles in the space of five minutes.
TeamCapeVerde Records Second-Ever AFCON Win
The second match of the opening day saw the island nation of Cape Verde subdue a toothless Ethiopian side made up of mostly home-based players.
In the end, Cape Verde ran away with a narrow 0-1 win over Ethiopia. It was the first since 2013 and second-ever AFCON win for the Blue Sharks. Julio Tavares with a beautiful first-half half header to seal the win for the Sharks.
Up Next: On Thursday
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#TeamBurkinaFaso ? #TeamCapeVerde
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