The Gambia joined neighbors Senegal in completing a perfect record at the group stage of the 2023 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations on Monday after a late own goal gave the Young Scorpions a 1-0 victory over Benin to make it three wins in three Group C matches. Benin join The Gambia in the quarterfinals despite the defeat, ranking as one of the two best third-placed teams while Tunisia finished as runners-up with a 2-1 victory over Zambia who are the only team from the group eliminated from the tournament.
For The Gambia it was a difficult test against Benin in Alexandria but another clean sheet set the scene for a stroke of fortune late on. Tamimou Ouorou’s 88th minute own goal came after a header from Gambia forward Mansour Mbye led to Benin goalkeeper Rahman Karim’s kick save ricocheting off the foot of Ouorou and back into his goal. Benin created plenty of opportunities but once again failed to find their finishing touch in a disappointing result.
Meanwhile it was a much more productive attacking performance for Tunisia in Cairo, who responded quickly to a second half equalizer by Zambia. A slick finish from Kingstone Mutandwa cancelled out Jibril Othman’s first half opener close to the hour mark but hardly a minute later it was new Al Ahly signing Mohamed Dhaoui who crafted Tunisia’s winner. The 19-year-old former Étoile du Sahel forward received a switch of play from Othman and cut inside from the right wing before unleashing an unstoppable blast into the net to send Zambia home.
The quarterfinal fixtures are below following the scores with highlights further down.
Scores
Group C
The Gambia 1-0 Benin
Tunisia 2-1 Zambia
Quarterfinal Fixtures
March 2
Senegal v Benin
Uganda v Nigeria
March 3
The Gambia v South Sudan
Republic of Congo v Tunisia
Highlights
Tunisia 2-1 Zambia
The Gambia 1-0 Benin
