African Cup of Nations week 1 round-up: Liverpool pair clash & Arsenal man heading home?

2022 African Cup of Nations gets underway

The 2022 African Cup of Nations is now in full swing.

The competition kicked off on Sunday the 9^th of January as hosts Cameroon took on Burkina Faso. A full week’s worth of action has since played out, with every side now having played two of their three group games.

Controversy dominates

So far, there have been a number of high-scoring, intense ties, with a scoop full of controversy thrown in for good measure.

For example, the referee in Tunisia and Mali’s game would originally blow for full time after 85 minutes. The game was then restarted, but despite lengthy stoppages in the second half, the referee then blew the full-time whistle after 89 minutes and 44 seconds.

SCENES!!

The referee blows the whistle before the 90 minutes are up…

VAR checks, two penalties and a red card… no stoppage time?!

It ends Tunisia 0-1 Mali pic.twitter.com/tPoiw7ZNGX

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 12, 2022

This was followed by CAF officials storming into the Mali post-match press conference to demand the final three minutes of injury time be played.

In the end, though, the game was not restarted and Mali escaped with a controversial win.

Elsewhere, Ghana and Gabon’s clash ended in a brawl, with Benjamin Tetteh punching a Gabon star:

Shocking scenes! Benjamin Tetteh throws a punch to the face at full-time, the referee then sends Thomas Partey to get Tetteh who is shown a red card…

@SkyFootball #AFCON2021 | #AFCON pic.twitter.com/8QZsdbxIB2

— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) January 14, 2022

Despite these issues, though, each team has played two games apiece, with a clear picture of who is likely to progress into the knockout rounds emerging.

Here is 101’s group by group round-up from the first week of the 2022 AFCON.

Group A

As mentioned above, it would be hosts, Cameroon, who kicked off this year’s AFCON.

The hosts have been handed a pretty easy group that consists of Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Ethiopia.

So far, Cameroon have, unsurprisingly, dominated their games; beating Burkina Faso 2-1 and Ethiopia 4-1.

Their final group clash comes against Cape Verde on Monday, with a draw enough to ensure they secure top spot in Group A. They are currently priced at 8/11 with bet365 to secure the three points.

Here is how Group A looks after week one of action:

#TeamCameroon jusqu’aux KO.
#TeamBurkinaFaso remporte ses 3 premiers points.

Classement du groupe A. #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #CAN2021 pic.twitter.com/m2vIwK39RQ

— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 – FR (@caf_online_FR) January 14, 2022

Group B

Group B would see two Liverpool teammates pitted against each other as Sadio Mane’s Senegal and Naby Keita’s Guinea vie for a spot in the knockout rounds along with Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Senegal, after reaching the final in 2019, were amongst the favourites to win the competition this term.

However, they would struggle to earn a win over Zimbabwe in their opening match, only being saved by a last-minute penalty from Mane.

Then, Senegal would play out a 0-0 draw with Keita’s Guinea, who beat Malawi 1-0 in their opening match, on Friday

Liverpool teammates Sadio Mané & Naby Keïta moved closer to the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations as Senegal & Guinea played out a 0-0 draw! pic.twitter.com/ZgTUsj2U8U

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 14, 2022

This means Group B will go down to the wire, with Senegal needing to better Guinea’s result in the final set of group games to secure top spot.

Mane and co. will face Malawi and are priced at 2/5 to win, whilst Guinea take on Zimbabwe.

Here is how Group B looks at present:

• #TeamSenegal et #TeamGuinea départagent les points.

•une victoire historique pour #TeamMalawi.

Voici le classement du Groupe B après la fin du 2ème tour. #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #CAN2021 pic.twitter.com/UQ0XHcZcKG

— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 – FR (@caf_online_FR) January 14, 2022

Group C

Group C at the 2022 African Cup of Nations consists of Morocco, Gabon, Ghana and Comoros.

At present, it is Morocco who top the group, having picked up maximum points so far with wins over Ghana and Comoros.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon are in second spot, having picked up a win over Comoros, followed by a 0-0 draw with Thomas Partey’s Ghana.

Drama at #AFCON2021 as Jim Allevinah scored a late equaliser against Ghana to secure a point for Gabon.

@SkyFootball pic.twitter.com/F1olLqAIO0

— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) January 14, 2022

That result leaves Partey’s Ghana on just one point with only one game left to play. As result, Ghana need to see off Comoros in their last match and hope Gabon lose to Morocco. If not, Arsenal could be handed a boost with Partey heading home after just three games.

#TeamMorocco en KO
#TeamGhana remporte sa première victoire .

Le classement du Groupe C. #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #CAN2021 pic.twitter.com/e9QON12Rhs

— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 – FR (@caf_online_FR) January 15, 2022

Group D

Group D would see two African heavyweights face off in the opening round in the form of Nigeria and Egypt.

Egypt, of course, have Mohamed Salah – arguably the best player in the world right now – in their squad.

However, Salah could not break down Nigeria, with Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho instead scoring the only goal on the day for Nigeria.

Egypt then went on to pick up their first win of the tournament vs Guinea-Bissau, whilst Nigeria saw off Sudan.

As a result, Nigeria look set to secure top spot in Group D, with Egypt likely to finish in second place.

Egypt’s final group game comes vs basement-dwelling Sudan on Wednesday. They are priced at  with bet365 to win.

Group D standings after week one of action:

#RT @caf_online_FR: Une victoire pour @NGSuperEagles contre #TeamSudan.
Les @Pharaons gagnent leurs 3 premiers points.

Voici le classement du groupe D après le 2nd tour. ✌️#TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #CAN2021 pic.twitter.com/HvOY1mToUT

— LE NOUVEAU RÉVEIL DIGITAL (@LNR_Digital) January 16, 2022

Group E

Group E is home to the current AFCON holders, Algeria, as well as Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea.

As Algeria won the whole thing last time out, Riyad Mahrez and co. were expected to dominate this group.

However, they have so far drawn with Sierra Leone and were dealt a shock loss at the hands of Equatorial Guinea.

As a result, Algeria’s only way of qualifying now is by beating Ivory Coast (11/8 price with bet 365) in their last group match and hoping Sierra Leone see off Equatorial Guinea.

Ivory Coast, though, will prove a tough nut to crack and would only drop points on Sunday after some spectacular goalkeeping errors which eventually ended in Serge Aurier being between the posts:

É: 2-2

Une pluie de buts à Douala et Alhaji Kamara marque un égaliseur spectaculaire pour sceller un point bien mérité pour les ‘Leone Stars’

Un rapide récapitulatif de #CIVSLE! #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #CAN2021 | @Football2gether pic.twitter.com/AYTo2qGfXn

— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 – FR (@caf_online_FR) January 17, 2022

Group F

Group F is made up of Gambia, Mali, Mauritania and Tunisia.

It is Gambia and Mali who currently look set to make it into the knockout rounds with the due sat joint top of the group with four points each.

Mali would beat Tunisia 1-0 in their opening match, before drawing with Gambia on Sunday. Gambia, meanwhile, saw off Mauritania in their opening outing.

Tunisia then picked up their first and only win so far with a 3-0 drubbing of Mauritania, who are now unable to qualify for the knockout rounds.

So, with Tunisia set to face Gabon in the final set of group games, Mali and Gambia simply need one point to guarantee qualification.

• Rédemption de #TeamTunisia contre #TeamMauritania ✅

• #TeamMali et #TeamGambia départagent les points

Le classement du Groupe F #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #CAN2021 pic.twitter.com/zsXVlG4j6h

— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 – FR (@caf_online_FR) January 16, 2022

Goals of the week

Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho vs Egypt:

What a finish

Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho gives the super eagles of Nigeria the lead against Egypt pic.twitter.com/N6h6sycCW0

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 11, 2022

Ghana’s Andre Ayew vs Gabon:

Ghana are ahead vs Gabon after this absolute thunderbolt from André Ayew!! ⚡ pic.twitter.com/IX14pBkOiV

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 14, 2022