Ethiopia 0-1 Cape Verde: Tavares clinches opening win

Ethiopia’s
appearance
in
this
year’s
finals
marks
only
their
second
in
the
last
20
editions
of
the
tournament
and
for
them
the
Group
A
encounter
began
in
inauspicious
fashion.

They
saw
centre-back
Yared
Baye
sent
off
after
a
review
from
the
VAR
in
the
12th
minute.

African
Cup
of
Nations
(AFCON)
2021:
Full
schedule,
timing
in
IST,
venues,
teams,
groups
and
telecast
details

Baye
hacked
down
Tavares
on
the
edge
of
the
box
after
losing
possession
inside
his
own
half.

Cape
Verde
finally
capitalised
on
their
extra
man
in
first-half
stoppage
time,
Garry
Rodrigues
volleying
Jamiro
Monteiro’s
deep
cross
to
the
far
post
back
across
goal
for
Tavares
to
nod
in.

Despite
dominating
possession
and
chances,
Cape
Verde
could
not
add
to
their
lead
in
the
second
half,
but
it
mattered
not
with
Ethiopia
never
threatening
to
find
an
equaliser.

Earlier,
hosts
Cameroon
recovered
from
an
early
shock
in
their
opener
against
Burkina
Faso,
with
late
first-half
penalties
from
Vincent
Aboubakar
eventually
seeing
them
start
their
campaign
with
all
three
points.

After
an
opening
ceremony
featuring
tribal-style
shields
emblazoned
with
national
flags,
the
“Indomitable
Lions”
fell
behind
in
their
home
tournament
when
Gustavo
Sangaré
gave
Burkina
Faso
the
lead
midway
through
the
first-half,
the
Cameroonian
defense
punished
for
poor
marking
in
the
box.

But
a
physical
Burkina
Faso
side
only
had
themselves
to
blame
when
they
gave
away
two
penalties
for
clumsy
tackles
before
half-time,
Aboubakar
converting
both
to
give
Cameroon
a
lead
they
never
relinquished
in
an
entertaining
game.

AFCON
2021:
Kamaldeen,
Hannibal
and
the
young
talents
looking
to
impress

The
home
fans
celebrated
a
successful
AFCON
start
at
the
Olembe
Stadium,
which
was
limited
to
80
per
cent
capacity
due
to
COVID-19
with
access
restricted
to
fans
with
proof
of
vaccination
and
a
negative
PCR
test.

Matches
not
involving
Cameroon
will
be
restricted
to
60
per
cent
capacity,
but
that’s
better
than
nothing
three
years
after
the
tournament
was
originally
supposed
to
take
place.

Cameroon
was
initially
scheduled
to
host
the
event
in
2019,
but
the
competition
was
moved
to
Egypt
due
to
concerns
about
preparation
and
security,
with
the
West
African
country
in
the
grip
of
the
Anglophone
Crisis
and
also
threatened
by
the
Boko
Haram
insurgency
in
neighboring
Nigeria.

Cameroon
was
awarded
the
2021
tournament
instead,
which
was
then
postponed
by
one
more
year
due
to
the
coronavirus
pandemic.

Now,
exactly
50
years
after
Cameroon
last
hosted
AFCON
in
1972,
the
tournament
is
back
in
the
football-mad
country.

But
even
this
year,
the
buildup
has
not
been
without
issues.

With
an
increasing
number
of
African
players
starring
in
some
of
Europe’s
top
leagues
–
including
the
likes
of
Liverpool
duo
Mohamed
Salah
(Egypt)
and
Sadio
Mane
(Senegal),
Manchester
City’s
Riyad
Mahrez
(Algeria)
and
Bayern
Munich’s
Eric
Maxim
Choupo-Moting
(Cameroon)
–
tensions
have
arisen
between
clubs
and
countries.

In
December,
the
European
Club
Association
(ECA)
wrote
to
FIFA’s
deputy
secretary-general
Mattias
Grafström
citing
concerns
over
player
safety
against
the
background
of
the
spread
of
COVID-19.