World Cup qualifiers are still without a win at the African Cup of
Nations after Gabon beat Cameroon 1-0 on Wednesday.
Zambia held Tunisia to 1-1 in Group D's other game.
Striker Daniel Cousin made the most of a defensive blunder by
Rigobert Song to net in the 17th minute for Gabon.
The opening group matches left Gabon with an early lead on
three points, two more than Zambia and Tunisia. Cameroon had none.
Cameroon's loss followed earlier defeats by World Cup-bound
Algeria and Nigeria. Ivory Coast opened by drawing with Burkina
Faso 0-0, and plays fellow qualifier Ghana on Friday.
Cameroon captain Samuel Eto'o said his team wasn't done yet.
"It's not a big problem," Eto'o said. "We have to win our
next game. We controlled the game but we didn't score."
Cousin's timing and positioning was perfect. Song, making a
record eighth African Cup appearance, stumbled at a Roguy Meye
throughball and defensive partner Nicolas Nkoulou made a costly
miss, giving unspotted Cousin enough space to stab a low shot past
Cameroon goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.
"We are very pleased we got a win in the first game," said
Gabon coach Alain Giresse, who came out on top against French
countryman Paul Le Guen. "The system worked well. Technically we
were very good."
Later, Zhoueir Dhaouadi's score for Tunisia helped to cancel
Jacob Mulenga's for Zambia.
The setup for Zambia's opener came from James Chamanga, who
offered a precise pass to striker Jacob Mulenga, who unleashed at
the near post in the 18th.
"This draw has left the group wide open," said Zambia coach
Herve Renard. "It would be very nice if we knock Cameroon out of
this tournament."
Tunisia, the 2004 champion, struggled until halftime but
managed to level in the 40th minute following a swift move which
led to Dhaouadi's effort past Kennedy Mweene. Youssef Msakni was
the provider.
"We played well," said Tunisia's Korbi Kaled. "We had a lot
of chances. We will need to work harder so we can win the next
game."
Cameroon's Indomitable Lions made a poor start with Alex Song
almost gifting Gabon a first-minute opener before recovering just
in time to stop a possible Gabonese threat.
Cameroon couldn't complain as it had plenty of chances.
Twenty minutes into the game, Achille Webo released a
powerful low shot that forced one of several good saves by Didier
Ovono in the first half.
Emana then provided a well-timed throughball for Webo inside
the box, but Ovono again used his legs to save in the 32nd.
Even though he wasn't at his scoring best, Eto'o also had a
chance but his weak shot in the 76th didn't trouble Ovono.
On Thursday, Group A resumes with Mali vs. Algeria and Angola
vs. Malawi.
