By Ghanaman
Guinea-Bissau became the first casualty of the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations taking place in The Ivory Coast.
The Wild Dogs were duly tamed by the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a 1-0 loss, no thanks to a 37th minute own goal by Opa Sagante.
The defeat officially condemns Guinea Bissau to an early exit from the tournament as they finished bottom of Group A without a single point after previous losses to Ivory Coast (2-0) and Equatorial Guinea (4-2).
But the West Africans won’t be alone on their journey back home though, as they will find some sort of comfort in fellow Portuguese-speaking Mozambique as travelling companions.
The Mambas put up a fight in their final Group B match against Ghana, slithering their way from 2 goals down to draw 2-2 at The Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Monday night.
The result however couldn’t improve their standing on the log as they finished bottom of Group B with 2 points, same as Ghana, but with an inferior goal difference. Cape Verde surprisingly retained top spot by snatching a late equalizer to keep 7-time champions Egypt at bay in 2nd spot.
Having concluded proceedings for both Group A and B, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique thus became the first teams to catch early flights home.
Incidentally, both teams are yet to record a win at any edition of the Afcon so far.
After 12 matches in 4 different Afcon tournaments, The Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau are yet to taste victory, with 12 defeats and 3 draws; whereas Mozambique’s Mambas have registered just 4 draws and 11 losses in 5 different Afcon tournaments, with no clean sheets to their name as well.
Meanwhile, both hosts Ivory Coast and 4-time winners Ghana will remain hopeful for favourable results from the rest of the groups.
As it stands, The Brave Warriors of Namibia, Algeria’s Fennec Foxes, Zambia’s Chipolopolo and The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon stand in their path of progression into the Round of 16.
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