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12/23 12:08 CST Senegal gets its Africa Cup campaign started with a 3-0 victory
over Botswana
Senegal gets its Africa Cup campaign started with a 3-0 victory over Botswana
By CIARAN FAHEY
AP Sports Writer
TANGIER, Morocco (AP) --- Nicolas Jackson scored twice as Senegal started its
Africa Cup of Nations title bid with a comfortable 3-0 win over Botswana on
Tuesday.
Substitute Cherif Ndiaye completed the scoring after Botswana goalkeeper
Goitseone Phoko had prevented worse for the Zebras, who lined up with five at
the back and were pinned back for most of the game.
"We have to keep going like this," said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, who
nevertheless saw room for improvement.
Senegal, winner of the 2021 edition and one of the favorites again, should have
scored more against a team ranked 138th in the world, all while the colorfully
dressed Senegal fans danced to the beat of their drums.
The official team supporters had taken their positions long before kickoff and
never stopped, not even as organizers blared pop tunes and advertisements in
the otherwise mostly empty stadium.
Attendance in the 68,000-capacity Grand Stade de Tanger, which looks like a
donut from the outside, was just over 18,500. Heavy rainfall likely kept
neutral fans away. It kept pouring on the third day of what is shaping up to be
the wettest and coldest Africa Cup to date. The tournament was initially
scheduled for the summer, but it was pushed back to avoid clashing with FIFA's
new Club World Cup competition.
Jackson, who has had limited opportunities at Bayern Munich since his summer
switch from Chelsea, missed a host of chances. The first came early with Phoko
getting the better of their one-on-one, before Pape Gueye fired over, and Phoko
made another great save to deny Sadio Man.
Many more chances were missed before Jackson finally broke the deadlock in the
40th with a simple finish to Ismail Jakobs' fast cross.
Botswana initially showed more attacking ambition after the break, but that
yielded more counterattacking opportunities for the Teranga Lions, who quickly
resumed their earlier dominance.
Jackson used both feet before sweeping in the ball in for his second goal in
the 58th from Ismala Sarr's cross.
Phoko remained the busiest Botswana player as Jackson's frustrations grew.
Jackson went off for Ndiaye in the 78th and the substitute wrapped up the
scoring in the last minute.
Congo wins
An early goal from Tho Bongonda was enough for Congo to beat Benin 1-0 in the
first game in Group D.
Nigeria, which lost the final to host nation Ivory Coast in the last edition,
was opening its campaign later against Tanzania --- the Taifa Stars --- in the
old "imperial city" of Fez.
Also later, Tunisia faced Uganda in Rabat for the second game in Group C.
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AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
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