TANGIER, Morocco (AP) — The contrast could hardly be greater.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice and Senegal started its Africa Cup of Nations title bid with a comfortable 3-0 win over Botswana on Tuesday, before Nigeria opened with a nervy 2-1 victory over Tanzania.
Both teams are among the favorites for the 35th edition of the tournament, but only one lived up to its billing.
Senegal substitute Cherif Ndiaye completed his team's scoring after Botswana goalkeeper
Goitseone Phoko had prevented worse for the Zebras, who lined up with five at the back and were pinned back for most of the game.
“We have to keep going like this,” said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, who nevertheless saw room for improvement. “There are no easy opening matches.”
Nigeria got a Group C win in the old “imperial city” of Fez, but the performance may cause concern.
The Super Eagles made the better start and should have scored long before Semi Ajayi finally broke the deadlock in the 36th with a header off Alex Iwobi’s cross after a short corner.
Charles M’Mombwa equalized against the run of play early in the second half, and though Ademola Lookman replied almost straight away, the Taifa Stars’ goal seemed to drain Nigerian confidence away.
Nigeria star Victor Osimhen, who’d earlier had a would-be goal ruled out for offside, was unhappy when he went off in the 86th, when he exchanged words with coach Éric Chelle.
Ibrahim Hamad missed the last chance for Tanzania, and Nigeria — the beaten finalist in the last edition — ultimately had enough experience to hold on.
Senegal, winner of the 2021 edition, could have scored more against a team ranked 138th in the world, all while the colorfully dressed Senegal fans danced to the beat of their drums.
The official team supporters had taken their positions long before kickoff and never stopped, not even as organizers blared pop tunes and advertisements in the otherwise mostly empty stadium.
Attendance in the 68,000-capacity Grand Stade de Tanger, which looks like a donut from the outside, was just over 18,500. Heavy rainfall likely kept neutral fans away. It kept pouring on the third day of what is shaping up to be the wettest and coldest Africa Cup to date. The tournament was initially scheduled for the summer, but it was pushed back to avoid clashing with FIFA’s new Club World Cup competition.
Jackson, who has had limited opportunities at Bayern Munich since his summer switch from Chelsea, missed a host of chances. The first came early with Phoko getting the better of their one-on-one, before Pape Gueye fired over, and Phoko made another great save to deny Sadio Mané.
Many more chances were missed before Jackson finally broke the deadlock in the 40th with a simple finish to Ismail Jakobs’ fast cross.
Botswana initially showed more attacking ambition after the break, but that yielded more counterattacking opportunities for the Teranga Lions, who quickly resumed their earlier dominance.
Jackson used both feet before sweeping in the ball in for his second goal in the 58th from Ismaïla Sarr’s cross.
Phoko remained the busiest Botswana player as Jackson’s frustrations grew. Jackson went off for Ndiaye in the 78th and the substitute wrapped up the scoring in the last minute.
An early goal from Théo Bongonda was enough for Congo to beat Benin 1-0 in the first game in Group D.
Later, Tunisia faced Uganda in Rabat for the second game in Group C.
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AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations
