Preparations ahead of the 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be played in Cameroon are concretising with the official start of friendly matches. The first two preparatory games of the competition were played yesterday, December 30, 2021. Mauritania played Burkina Faso and Sudan logged horns with Ethiopia. The kick-off was given by Mauritania and Burkina Faso in Abu Dhabi. Though the game was played in closed doors, we gathered that it ended on a goalless draw (0-0). Coach Didier Da Rosa of Mauritania used the game to test a quota of his recently pre-selected 30-man squad. Mauritania, it has been reported, played the last 12 minutes with a 10-man team following the dismissal of Abdoul Ba due to a red card. Nonetheless, it is clear that both coaches have learnt a lot from the match and will know what to do to get the different compartments on point. The Mauritanian Football Federation announced that the country will play its next preparatory match against Gabon on Tuesday January 4, 2022.
The second match played yesterday was that pitting Sudan and Ethiopia in Yaounde Cameroon. The match played in closed doors ended 3-2 in favour of Ethiopia. It should be recalled that Ethiopia was the first team to touch down on Cameroon and has been bracing up for some days as they simultaneously get acquainted with the climatic condition of Yaounde. Sudan was the second nation to come to Cameroon and are equally fine-tuning strategies.
Artmotion S.Africa
