AFCON 2021: Gambia March On to Quarter-Final Stage in Debut Appearance in the Tournament, Beat Guinea 1–0

AFCON 2021: Gambia March On to Quarter-Final Stage in Debut Appearance in the Tournament, Beat Guinea 1–0

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:54 PM
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CAF AFCON
Africa
  • Gambia beat Guinea in a thrilling round of 16 encounter to progress to the next stage of the competition
  • Gambia are appearing in their 1st AFCON tournament and are yet to lose a game in the competition
  • Guinea were without captain Naby Keita as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to the newcomers Gambia

Gambia's fairytale first appearance at the African Cup of Nations continues as they booked their place in the quarter-finals of the continental showcase.

Gambia beat Guinea 1-0 thanks to Musa Barrow's goal in the 71st minute. The Bologna forward showed great strength, bullying his way through the defence to score.

AFCON, Gambia, Guinea, Soccer, Sport
Gambia picked up another impressive win and will now compete in the quarterfinals of AFCON 2021. Image: Pius Utomi Ekpei
Source: Getty Images

Gambia also showed great resolve as they played the last five minutes with 10 men and an injured keeper in Baboucarr Gaye .

Yusupha Njie was sent off 15 minutes after he came on as a sub after he received two yellow cards. The player could feel hard done as both yellow cards were harsh decisions.

Guinea threw everything they had at the Gambian side and hit the woodwork in the 92nd minute of the match. Captain Naby Keita's absence was definitely felt as Guinea could not unlock the Gambian backline. Keita was suspended for the game after picking up two yellow cards during the group stages.

Guinea then found themselves down to 10 men themselves as Ibrahima Conté was sent off towards the last seconds of the game.

It made no difference though as Guinea clung on to a famous win. They will now hope to become only the fourth team to win the tournament in their debut appearance.

Okocha blames Eagles' loss on poor tactics

Earlier Sportsbrief reported Nigeria legend Austin Jay Jay Okocha has hyped praise on the Tunisian technical crew as he believes they outsmarted the Nigerian bench in the AFCON Round of 16 encounter saw the North Africans progress to the Quarter-finals.

The Carthage Eagles defeated Nigeria 1-0 to progress to the quarter-finals after Youssef Msakni long-range effort blasted past Maduka Okoye in goal with the Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper caught napping.

Authors
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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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