The opening round of the AFCON 2023 was quite mixed in terms of results and performances. Just the same way we saw some exciting players and teams who impressed in their tournament openers.
Well, on the list of teams that were disappointing in their games, we have Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The heavyweights were handled roughly by the underdogs as some of the stars failed to turn up.
Seven worst performers of AFCON 2023 match day 1
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
Osimhen scored Nigeria's equalizer after the Equatorial Guineans took the lead minutes before the end of the first half.
However, the Napoli man did let his team down when he fluffed clear-cut chances that were created for him. In total, he missed four big chances in the game much to the disappointment of the fans.
Percy Tau (South Africa)
Just like Osimhen, Tau was wasteful in front of goal as South Africa suffered a 2-0 loss to Mali. The Al Ahly winger also missed a penalty during the course of the game and that potentially cost his side the game in the end.
Idrissu Baba (Ghana)
Baba was underwhelming in the middle of the park. He's supposed to be Thomas Partey’s replacement but he was nothing near the Arsenal man.
He was also booked in one of his casual moves on the pitch and that did play a part in Ghana’s defeat.
Mohamed El Abd (Mauritania)
He is the sole reason why Mauritania are without a point after the opening game. The centre-back did not cover himself in glory when he made an unnecessary lunge in the box in stoppage time while trying to get the ball. The penalty was eventually scored by Burkina Faso’s Bertrand Traore.
Francois Kamano (Guinea)
The skipper failed to deliver as he was sent off for an unfortunate tackle during the game against Cameroon. His decision left his side sweating with 10 men for the entirety of the second half.
Lionel Mpasi-Nzau (DR Congo)
The goalkeeper was at fault for the goal his side conceded when he went charging out of his line. That was the only time he had something to do in the game and he failed to be decent.
Novatus Mirashi (Tanzania)
The midfielder was rash with his challenges and at a time his side were just down by a goal, he made another poor one that got him sent off. After his exit, the Moroccans found their way to score two further goals and inflict a big defeat on the Taifa Stars.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago
