AFCON 2022: Cameroon defeats Burkina Faso, Cape Verde wallops Ethiopia in opener

Cameroon started the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on an impressive note with a 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso on Sunday in their Group A encounter held at the Paul Biya Stadium, Olembe, Yaounde.

Vincent Aboubakar, the Indomitable Lions’ captain, scored two penalty kicks to overcome the Burkina Faso side.

The Stallions, however, scored in the 24th minute as Gustavo Sangare found the Cameroon net from Bertrand Traore’s cross.

Bertrand conceded the first penalty that was awarded by VAR before Aboubakar converted it on 40 minutes.

The second penalty arrived deep into added time which Aboubakar converted again, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way for the match-winning goal and getting the maximum points for Cameroon.

Cameroon had not won against the Stallions in their past four meetings.

Cameroon is joined at the top by Cape Verde who are featuring in only their third ever AFCON tournament after an impressive 1-0 win over ten-man Ethiopia.

Julio Tavares’ header was the decider for the Cape Verde Islanders over Ethiopia.

Cameroon will trade tackle with Ethiopia while Burkina Faso and Cape Verde will meet on January 13.