The 2020 African Nations Championship in Cameroon has gone through its first round of matches. Teams are still finding chemistry and finding their momentum, but there were several bright spots and players that caught the eye. Pan-Africa Football looks at how things stand after the opening games and a player of interest from each group.
Group A
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon (Hosts) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Mali | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Burkina Faso | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Matchday 1 Results
Cameroon 1-0 Zimbabwe (Highlights)
Mali 1-0 Burkina Faso (Highlights)
Matchday 2 Fixtures (20 January)
Cameroon v Mali
Burkina Faso v Zimbabwe
Players of the Round
Sadio Kanoute- Mali (Stade Malien)
Mamadou Doumbia (Stade Malien) (#15)
It was well-known that the Stade Malien contingent in Mali’s defense was going to make things difficult for opposing attacks, and Burkina Faso discovered this fact on Saturday. 24-year-old Sadio Kanoute, referred to by Goal as the “Malian Busquets”, cut out attacks and used his long legs to cause Burkinabé playmaker Clément Pitroipa plenty of frustration. Doumbia is a physical force at center-back who has the speed to tackle swiftly but also possesses excellent lower-body strength to win 1 v 1 matchups against strikers, as seen here: