AFCON 2021
Hosts Cameroon got the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations underway with a victory over Burkina Faso on Sunday evening.
Captain Vincent Aboubakar scored twice from the spot to give the Indomitable Lions a 2-1 victory at the new Olembe stadium in Yaounde.
Gustavo Sangare gave the Burkinabes the lead with a ferocious volley after 24 minutes following a defensive error in the Cameroon box.
Cameroon won a penalty 12 minutes later after Burkinabe captain Bertrand Traore's clumsy challenge on André Anguissa.
Aboubakar stepped up and slotted past the Stallions goalkeeper Koffi.
At the stroke of halftime, Aboubakar dispatched a second penalty after a foul on Fai Collins by Issoufou Dayo.
In the day's other fixture, ten-man Ethiopia lost 1-0 to Cape Verde. A Julio Tavares close-range header secured the Blue Sharks' victory against the Walias who had been reduced to 10 men following Yared Bayeh’s early dismissal.
Action in Group A returns on Thursday with Cameroon taking on Ethiopia and Burkina Faso entertaining Cape Verde.
11:14
Rwanda Walks Away: what’s behind the Central Africa rift? [Business Africa]
01:12
Cameroon tops list of world's most neglected displacement crises
00:57
Nigeria crisis: 20,000 flee Marte after militant attacks
Go to video
Cameroon soccer great Emmanuel Kundé dies at age 68
Go to video
Thomas Sankara’s mausoleum opens to honor revolutionary leader
Go to video
Putin hosts talks with African leaders on security