As day two of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations is a recap of all three matches played featuring Uganda,Nigeria, and Guinea.
Group A:
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations had commenced with hosts Egypt’s clash against Zimbabwe, which saw the Pharaohs secure a narrow 1-0 victory, thanks to a Mahmoud Trezeguet strike.
At 8:00 GMT at the Cairo international stadium, the second game of the group was played out between Uganda and DR Congo, with the Cranes clinching their first victory in the competition since 14 March 1978.
Uganda completely dominated the game and managed to secure a comfortable 2-0 victory to top group A.
The Cranes took the lead after 14 minutes only when Kampala City forward Patrick Kaddu headed in Farouk Miya’s curled corner.
Three minutes into the second-half, Emmanuel Okwi doubled Uganda’s lead with an impressive header after another cross from Farouk Miya.
The victory moved Uganda top of group A with three points, ahead of hosts Egypt on goal difference.
The final standing of group A after game-week 1 is as follow:
UGANDA 3pts
EGYPT 3pts
ZIMBABWE 0pts
DR CONGO Opts
Group B:
Group B of the 2019 AFCON kicked off on Saturday at the Alexandria stadium, with two teams playing their first-ever game in the competition’s history.
The first game took place at 5:00 GMT between African powerhouse Nigeria and debutants Burundi, and it wasn’t a walk in the park for the Nigerians.
Burundi, led by Stoke City forward Saido Berahino, had a couple of chances to score and caused the Nigerians a lot of trouble when they went forward.
However, the Super Eagles were the ones to clinch the three points, thanks to a late goal from Shanghai Shenhua forward Odion Ighalo.
Two-and-a-half hours later, Guinea faced another debutant side in Madagascar, with Egyptian referee Amin Omar taking charge of the game.
Guinea dominated the first-half and took an effortless lead when Napoli’s Amadou Diawara put Sory Kaba through on goal, before the Dijon forward beat the goalkeeper and finished off the ball into the empty net.
Paul Put’s men thought that would be enough for them to grab the win, however, Madagascar stunned them with two goals in only six minutes.
Four minutes into the second-half, Anicet Abel managed to equalise the scoreline after heading in a corner, writing his name in the history books as the first-ever Malagasy to score in an AFCON tournament.
In the 55th minute, Carolus Andriamatsinoro completed Madagascar’s sensational comeback when he beat the offside trap and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, before slotting home.
Madagascar couldn’t hold on to their lead for long, as 11 minutes later, Guinea were awarded a penalty after Borussia Mönchengladbach winger Ibrahima Traoré was brought down inside the penalty area.
François Kamano stepped up and scored the penalty, making it 2-2, which was the final scoreline of the game.
Following Madagascar’s historic draw, Nigeria sit top of group B:
NIGERIA 3PTS
GUINEA 1PT
MADAGASCAR 1PT
BURUNDI 0PT
