Senegal’s Sadio Mané converted a penalty seven minutes into stoppage time to hand the pre-tournament favourites a 1-0 victory over Zimbabwe at the start of their Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Bafoussam on Monday.
The Zimbabwe defender Kelvin Madzongwe was penalised for blocking a shot with his hand extended away from his body in the penalty area in a heartbreaking turn of events for his side as they were on the cusp of an upset at the start of the Group B action.
Zimbabwe were restricted to a handful of counter-attacking chances and set-piece opportunities, the best of which their captain, Knowledge Musona, wasted by floating it over the top. They had been under threat of expulsion before the tournament by Fifa, who warned of a ban after the Zimbabwe Football Association was disbanded by the government following accusations of fraud, but a deadline to reinstate the association’s executive has passed without any action.
