Angola advanced to the Round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Burkina Faso in Group D on Tuesday at Yamoussoukro’s Charles Konan Banny Stadium.
A goal in each half by Cristovao “Mabululu” Paciencia and Ambrosini “Zini” Salvador on the stroke of full-time saw the Angolans qualify for the Round of 16 of the competition for the first time since 2010 as hosts.
However, both Angola and Burkina Faso advanced to the next round, while Mauritania’s historic 1-0 win over Algeria marked their first AFCON victory, propelling them into the knockout stage as one of the best third-place finishers in the groups.
Defender Yali Dellahi scored the all-important goal for Mauritania to eliminate Algeria from the competition after finishing bottom of the group.
Cameroon cruises to the round of 16 with a late winner
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon defeated Gambia 3-2 in their last group game to advance to the round of 16.
Karl Toko Ekambi put Cameroon in the lead in the 56th minute but Gambia came back into the game with an equalizer through Ablie Jallow.
The Scorpions went on to take the lead through Ebrima Colley.
Cameroon had no choice but to respond to the threat of exit. Gambia’s James Gomez attempted to clear a ball from his own half, but it ended up in his own net just two minutes after they took the lead.
Cameroon went on to score the winner late in injury time through defender Christopher Wooh, who headed home from a Georges-Kevin N’Koudou’s cross.
The victory secured Cameroon’s qualification for the knockout stage with 4 points. In the other Group C game, the defending champions defeated Guinea 2-0 with goals by Lliman Ndiaye and Abdoulaye Seck to top the group with nine points.
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However, Guinea still advanced to the round of 16 with four points, which meant Ghana was officially out of the competition.
