Thanks to star striker Sadio Mane, the Senegalese national soccer team started the hunt for their first title at the Africa Cup in Cameroon with a happy success.
In the 1-0 (0-0) victory of the African vice-champion against Zimbabwe in Bafoussam, the protégé of team manager Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool FC only made the decision in the seventh minute of stoppage time with a converted penalty. In Senegal’s team, Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga professional Bouna Sarr was in the first game of group B.
The focus was involuntarily on Aymen Barkok from Munich’s league rival Eintracht Frankfurt. The Moroccan midfielder tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before his team’s opening game against Ghana and was therefore unable to play. But even without the 23-year-old, the Atlas Lions celebrated a 1-0 (0-0) success. Ghana’s false start in Group C could not prevent Daniel-Kofi Kyereh from second division leaders FC St. Pauli after being substituted in in the closing stages.
In contrast to Kyereh, Ilaix Moriba from runner-up RB Leipzig was not even used in Guinea’s opening success with 1-0 (1-0) against Malawi. In the 1-0 (1-0) success of Gabon against the Comoros, no German legionnaires were among the squad.
In Senegal’s camp, matchwinner Mané did not want the efforts of his favorite team to be overrated: “It was difficult to get into the tournament straight away without preparation games. So the most important thing was to get the maximum number of points, and we did it. We have to but of course we can still improve. “
Mane and Sarr meet with their colleagues in the further preliminary rounds on Guinea and Malawi. At the 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt, Senegal only failed in the final to Algeria. The defending champion will intervene in the tournament on Tuesday with Bundesliga professional Ramy Bensebaini from Borussia Mönchengladbach in Group E against Sierra Leone.
.
ttn-9