{"id":49642,"date":"2023-12-19T15:25:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T15:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2"},"modified":"2023-12-19T15:28:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T15:28:00","slug":"countdown-to-afcon-2023-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2","title":{"rendered":"COUNTDOWN TO AFCON 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia<\/b><\/p>\n

Continental heavyweights Cameroon have five Nations Cup titles to their name but had to settle for third place on home soil last time out.<\/p>\n

Despite being drawn with holders Senegal, anything short of success might not go down well with Indomitable Lions supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect them to bring home the trophy, especially because we won our first Afcon in Abidjan in 1984,\u201d Cameroonian football analyst Lawrence Nkede said.<\/p>\n

Yet performances during the 2021 finals elicited mixed reactions. While there was praise for the team\u2019s resilience, the disappointment was pervasive after a semi-final defeat by Egypt on penalties.<\/p>\n

Now observers worry over coach Rigobert Song\u2019s lack of a settled starting XI.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past ten games we\u2019ve had ten different line-ups. It\u2019s very difficult to read the team and its true capacity,\u201d Nkede added.<\/p>\n

With goalkeeper Andre Onana enduring dips in form at Manchester United and doubts over the fitness of forward Bryan Mbeumo, the Lions may already be wounded ahead of their opener against Guinea.<\/p>\n

The Syli Nationale have reached the knockout stages on their past three appearances while The Gambia return after a surprise run to the quarter-finals on their Afcon debut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Scorpions will have to be at their very best to progress following poor performances and two defeats in World Cup qualifiers,\u201d journalist Momoudou Bah said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Tom Saintfiet\u2019s team will be pumped up to face Senegal in a derby in the opening fixture, as it will be the first time in over 15 years the two countries have faced each other at senior level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gambian football is progressing, with the country featuring at the Under-20 World Cup this year for the first time in 16 years, but Saintfiet has faced criticism over his playing philosophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pragmatic approach, which is based on sitting deep to soak up pressure before hitting opponents on the break, has been one of the team\u2019s strengths since the Belgian took over in 2018,\u201d Bah added.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he has had to deal with a backlash from expectant supporters who want a more expansive approach. Saintfiet has also faced challenges in the build-up as some key players struggle in front of goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Group C fixtures<\/b>
\no Monday, 15 January:<\/b> Senegal v The Gambia, Cameroon v Guinea<\/p>\n

o Friday, 19 January:<\/b> Senegal v Cameroon, Guinea v The Gambia<\/p>\n

o Tuesday, 23 January:<\/b> Guinea v Senegal, The Gambia v Cameroon<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia Continental heavyweights Cameroon have five Nations Cup titles to their name but had to settle for third place on home soil last time out. Despite being drawn with holders Senegal, anything short of success might not go down well with Indomitable Lions supporters. \u201cWe expect them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":49641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[2355,2361,260],"class_list":["post-49642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nCOUNTDOWN TO AFCON 2023 - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia Continental heavyweights Cameroon have five Nations Cup titles to their ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COUNTDOWN TO AFCON 2023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia Continental heavyweights Cameroon have five Nations Cup titles to their ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-19T15:25:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-19T15:28:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/12\/sm_1702986978.729111.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"COUNTDOWN TO AFCON 2023\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-19T15:25:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-19T15:28:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2\"},\"wordCount\":414,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/12\/sm_1702986978.729111.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Gambia\",\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/countdown-to-afcon-2023-2\",\"name\":\"COUNTDOWN TO AFCON 2023 - 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