Senegal and Guinea kept alive their hopes of automatically qualifying for the Round of 16 of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations despite a goalless draw in their Group B match at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam on Friday.
In a game in which possession was almost evenly shared and chances were far and few between, Senegal duo Bouna Sarr and Abdou Diallo were guilty of missing gilt-edged chances to score and give the 2019 runners-up a win that would more or less have secured passage to the knockout stages.
Diallo also had a strong header saved by Guinean stopper Aly Keita as Senegal applied pressure on Guinea with a series of set-pieces.
Guinea also had a glorious chance to break the deadlock before that when Ilaix Moriba set up Morgan Guilavogui at close range, but Senegalese goalkeeper Seny Dieng did well to keep out his effort.
The group’s other game saw Zimbabwe crash out of the tournament following a 2-1 loss to Malawi.
Gabadinho Mhango scored twice in the 43rd and 58th minutes as Malawi came from a goal down to stun The Warriors and snap a five-game losing streak.
Ishamel Wadi had opened the scoring for Zimbabwe who have now failed to win a competitive match in 13 attempts, losing nine of those fixtures.
Zimbabwe will hope to salvage some pride in their final group game against Guinea while Malawi will hope to secure passage into the knockout phase for the first time in three attempts albeit in a difficult encounter against Africa’s top-ranked side, Senegal.
(Story compiled with assistance from wire reports)
