Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang misses Gabon’s AFCON clash with Ghana after fears over ‘cardiac lesions’
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been forced to sit out Gabon’s Africa Cup of Nations clash with Ghana owing to fears over “cardiac lesions” following his recovery from Covid.
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In a statement released ahead of Gabon’s meeting with Ghana in Group C, the Gabonese Football Federation said: “According to the CAF [Confederation of African Football] medical commission, the players Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Axel Meye and Mario Lemina, barely out of Covid isolation, cannot take part in this match.
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“Medical examinations may have shown cardiac lesions. CAF did not want to take any risks.”
Aubameyang returned to training with Gabon earlier this week and it was hoped that he would be available to face Ghana in Yaounde, where he would have come up against Arsenal teammate Thomas Partey. It is unclear how long he will be sidelined but, having highlighted a potential minor heart issue, medical staff will likely err on the side of caution.
According to James McNicholas of The Athletic, “Arsenal have spoken with Gabon’s medics regarding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and are comfortable all is well.” Clubs and national teams are carefully monitoring players who have returned from Covid, with Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies diagnosed with mild heart inflammation this week following his recovery from the virus.
Gabon face an uphill struggle to reach the latter stages of AFCON in Aubameyang’s absence. With 29 goals in 71 appearances for his country, few would dispute that he is their most influential player and, as team captain, he will be sorely missed on and off the pitch.
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AFCON 2022 schedule, scores, standings, live stream, results: Morocco stay perfect; Egypt look to bounce back
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The Africa Cup of Nations officially got underway Sunday as 24 countries aim for continental supremacy. Algeria are the reigning champs, led by Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City, while Senegal, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Morocco all look like contenders. Six groups will see two teams from each advance to the round of 16, while the four best third-place teams also move on.
The action started with Cameroon coming from behind for a 2-1 win over Burkina Faso on Sunday, while Senegal and Morocco kicked off their tournaments on Monday with narrow 1-0 wins. Nigeria notched a big win in their opener, taking down Egypt and Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, 1-0, on Tuesday. Make sure you check out our AFCON preview from Tosin Makinde, as well as 15 players to watch.
Below you will find the groups, the standings and the schedule. You can watch AFCON 2022 live on beIN Sports, which you can access via fuboTV (Try for free).
Craving even more coverage of the world’s game? Listen below and follow ¡Qué Golazo! A Daily CBS Soccer Podcast where we take you beyond the pitch and around the globe for commentary, previews, recaps and more.
All times Eastern
AFCON 2022 Group A standings, schedule, results
Team MP W D L GD PTS Cameroon 2 2 0 0 +4 6 Burkina Faso 2 1 0 1 0 3 Cape Verde 2 1 0 1 0 3 Ethiopia 2 0 0 2 -4 0
Jan. 9
Cameroon 2, Burkina Faso 1
Cape Verde 1, Ethiopia 0
Jan. 13
Cameroon 4, Ethiopia 1
Cape Verde 0, Burkina Faso 1
Jan. 17
Cape Verde vs. Cameroon, 11 a.m.
Burkina Faso vs. Ethiopia, 11 a.m.
AFCON 2022 Group B standings, schedule, results
Team MP W D L GD PTS Guinea 2 1 1 0 +1 4 Senegal 2 1 1 0 +1 4 Malawi 2 1 0 1 -1 3 Zimbabwe 2 0 0 2 -2 0
Jan. 10
Senegal 1, Zimbabwe 0
Guinea 1, Malawi 0
Jan. 14
Senegal 0, Guinea 0
Malawi 2, Zimbabwe 1
Jan. 18
Malawi vs. Senegal, 11 a.m.
Zimbabwe vs. Guinea, 11 a.m.
AFCON 2022 Group C standings, schedule, results
Team MP W D L GD PTS Morocco 2 2 0 0 +3 6 Gabon 2 1 1 0 +1 4 Ghana 2 0 1 1 -1 1 Comoros 2 0 0 2 -3 0
Jan. 10
Morocco 1, Ghana 0
Gabon 1, Comoros 0
Jan. 14
Morocco 2, Comoros 0
Gabon 1, Ghana 1
Jan. 18
Gabon vs. Morocco, 2 p.m.
Ghana vs. Comoros, 2 p.m.
AFCON 2022 Group D standings, schedule, results
Team MP W D L GD PTS Nigeria 2 2 0 0 +3 6 Guinea-Bissau 1 0 1 0 0 1 Sudan 2 0 1 1 -2 1 Egypt 1 0 0 1 -1 0
Jan. 11
Nigeria 1, Egypt 0
Sudan 0, Guinea-Bissau 0
Jan. 15
Nigeria 3,. Sudan, 1
Guinea-Bissau vs. Egypt, 2 p.m.
Jan. 19
Guinea-Bissau vs. Nigeria, 2 p.m.
Egypt vs. Sudan, 2 p.m.
AFCON 2022 Group E standings, schedule, results
Team MP W D L GD PTS Ivory Coast 1 1 0 0 +1 3 Sierra Leone 1 0 1 0 0 1 Algeria 1 0 1 0 0 1 Equatorial Guinea 1 0 0 1 -1 0
Jan. 11
Algeria 0, Sierra Leone 0
Jan. 12
Ivory Coast 1, Equatorial Guinea 0
Jan. 16
Ivory Coast vs. Sierra Leone, 11 a.m.
Algeria vs. Equatorial Guinea, 2 p.m.
Jan. 20
Ivory Coast vs. Algeria, 11 a.m.
Sierra Leone vs Equatorial Guinea, 11 a.m.
AFCON 2022 Group F standings, schedule, results
Team MP W D L GD PTS Gambia 1 1 0 0 +1 3 Mali 1 1 0 0 +1 3 Mauritania 1 0 0 1 -1 0 Tunisia 1 0 0 1 -1 0
Jan. 12
Mali 1, Tunisia 0
Gambia 1, Mauritania 0
Jan. 16
Gambia vs. Mali, 8 a.m.
Tunisia vs. Mauritania, 11 a.m.
Jan. 20
Gambia vs. Tunisia, 2 p.m.
Mali vs. Mauritania, 2 p.m.
Knockout stage dates
Round of 16: Jan. 23-26
Quarterfinals: Jan. 29-30
Semifinals: Feb. 3-4
Third-place match: Feb. 6
Final: Feb. 6
Afcon 2022 results: Cameroon Vs Burkina Faso end 2-1 for Olembe stadium
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Afcon 2022 results: Cameroon Vs Burkina Faso end 2-1 for Olembe stadium
9 January 2022
Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images
Host of di 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon beat Burkina Faso to win di opening game of di tournament wey hapun for Olembe staduim Yaounde on Sunday, 9, January 2022.
Cameroon for number 33 Africa Cup of Nations beat Burkina Faso on penalties, 2-1.
De first, fault on midfielder Zambo Anguissa and de second fault on Nuhu Ntolo, den striker and captain Aboubakar score penalties for 40’ and 45’ for first half.
Like assistant coach Firmin Sanou tok for pre-match press conference, de Stallions give Cameroon tough times for first half, open score for 24 ’through Gustavo Sangare.
Sangare enta history as player weh e score first Afcon 2021 goal.
Afta lack luster first half for Cameroon, deh put pressure for Stallions only for squander dia chances. Aboubakar waste two chance for increase tally for Cameroon. Even Antonio Conceicao e substitution wit strikers, Njie Clinton and Choupo Moting no help de team score normal goal.
AFCON 2022 top goal scorers: Updated golden boot rankings at Africa Cup of Nations
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The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations has progressed into the second round of group stage matches, and one name stands out above the rest on the goalscoring table.
Captain Vincent Aboubakar of host nation Cameroon is on a tear to start the tournament, scoring four goals in his country’s opening two matches to put himself atop the list of players in a typically low-scoring tournament.
His teammate, Karl Toko Ekambi of Lyon, is right there behind him, as Cameroon’s two matches have featured nearly one-third of the goals scored in the entire competition. Malawi’s Gabadinho Mhango, who plies his trade with Orlando Pirates in South Africa, is also on two goals after a brace against Zimbabwe.
MORE: Referee chaos in Tunisia vs. Mali
Liverpool star Sadio Mane has just one goal in two matches, and he and club teammate Mohamed Salah are still well behind if they wish to challenge for the top spot. Man City attacker Riyad Mahrez was also locked down in his opening match for Algeria, while Sebastien Haller was upstaged by his Ivory Coast teammate Max Gradel in the Elephants’ opening match.
AFCON 2022 Top Scorers
Below is the AFCON 2022 top scorer rankings featuring the 24 goal scorers in the tournament who have contributed all 29 total goals seen thus far.
As in the case of other international tournaments, players with the same number of total goals scored are ranked by total assists and then by fewest minutes played. When assists and minutes played are even, they are arranged in alphabetical order.
MORE: AFCON 2022 group standings
Rank Player Country Goals (PKs) Assists Matches Mins 1. Vincent Aboubakar Cameroon 4 (2) 0 2 167 2. Gabadinho Mhango Malawi 2 (0) 0 1 90 Karl Toko Ekambi Cameroon 2 (0) 0 2 139 4. Samuel Chukwueze Nigeria 1 (0) 1 2 118 Moses Simon Nigeria 1 (0) 1 2 180 Ablie Jallow Gambia 1 (0) 0 1 64 Max Gradel Ivory Coast 1 (0) 0 1 71 Dawa Hotessa Ethiopia 1 (0) 0 1 73 Ibrahima Kone Mali 1 (1) 0 1 73 Aaron Boupendza Gabon 1 (0) 0 1 79 Kelechi Iheanacho Nigeria 1 (0) 0 1 80 Hassane Bande Burkina Faso 1 (0) 0 2 94 Jim Allevinah Gabon 1 (0) 0 2 103 Zakaria Aboukhlal Morocco 1 (0) 0 2 115 Taiwo Awoniyi Nigeria 1 (0) 0 2 154 Gustavo Sangare Burkina Faso 1 (0) 0 2 159 Sofiane Boufal Morocco 1 (0) 0 2 166 Ishmael Wadi Zimbabwe 1 (0) 0 2 174 Julio Tavares Cape Verde 1 (0) 0 2 176 Selim Amallah Morocco 1 (0) 0 2 180 Andre Ayew Ghana 1 (0) 0 2 180 Walieldin Khidir Sudan 1 (1) 0 2 180 Sadio Mane Senegal 1 (1) 0 2 180 Issiaga Sylla Guinea 1 (0) 0 2 180
Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorers since 2000
This year’s current top scorer would already be the top scorer in six of the last 11 AFCON tournaments with Aboubakar scoring four goals in just two matches.
MORE: AFCON 2022 matches & highlights today
Africa Cup of Nations: Chaos as referee ends game early TWICE and Tunisia refuse to play against Mali
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There were incredible scenes during Mali’s 1-0 win over Tunisia at the Africa Cup of Nations as the referee twice blew for full-time before the end of the match - and Tunisia players then refused to return to the pitch to play out the final few minutes.
The match should have been about two penalties, one of which was scored by Mali’s Ibrahima Kone in the 48th minute and one which was saved by Ibrahim Mounkoro from Wahbi Khazri late in the game.
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While the penalty decisions were debatable – both were given for handball – there was far more controversy to come in the final stages of the match.
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First, the referee blew his whistle for full-time with five minutes still remaining on the clock.
The error was quickly spotted as players and coaching staff looked confused and referee Janny Sikazwe of Zambia signalled for play to continue.
Sikazwe then reduced Tunisia to 10 men when he showed a straight red card to El Bilal Toure.
Even though replays showed the decision looked harsh, it was not overturned when the referee watched it again on the pitchside monitor.
With Tunisia pushing for a winner the game was then ended by the referee when the clock showed 89 minutes and 42 seconds.
Tunisia’s manager and backroom staff were incensed by the decision and ran onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee, pointing at their watches.
However, this time the referee did not restart the game and was ushered off the pitch along with his assistants.
One possible explanation given for the incorrect time keeping was that Sikazwe, who was in charge for the 2017 AFCON final, forgot to stop his watch at the water break.
There was more drama to follow as, 20 minutes after the game had finished, it was reported that it would be restarted again.
Mounkoro had already accepted his man-of-the-match award and Mali coach Mohamed Magassouba was midway through his press conference when tournament officials said that the game would start again. However, there were soon reports that both teams were refusing to return to the pitch as fans waited in the stands.
Eventually Mali did come back onto the pitch, seemingly ready to play again, but Tunisia were nowhere to be seen. It was reported that they refused to play the final few minutes in protest and will instead lodge a complaint.
Ibrahima Kone celebrates scoring for Mali Image credit: Getty Images
The late drama topped anything that happened during another low-scoring match.
Only one of the 10 games played so far has seen more than goal scored, the opening clash of the tournament which Cameroon won 2-1.
Mauritania face Gambia in the other game in Group F on Wednesday afternoon.
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