Africa Cup of Nations hopefuls Senegal kicked off their quest for an elusive maiden title on Sunday with a dominant 2-0 win over a Tanzania side making a first appearance at the tournament since 1980. Senegal are tipped as leading trophy contenders alongside hosts Egypt, and the Teranga Lions proved far too formidable for their opening Group C opponents despite the absence of suspended star forward Sadio Mane. Ismaila Sarr presented a constant threat down the right for Senegal and the Rennes trickster laid off for Kouyate moments later only for the substitute to scoop comfortably over. Senegal appeared to have a second goal on 34 minutes when Sarr poked home after a fumble by Manula but the referee ruled the effort out for a supposed handball. With Senegal ranked 22 in the world and Tanzania 131, this was on paper the biggest mismatch on paper of the 36 first-round matches in Egypt, and only a matter of wasteful finishing spared Tanzania a heavier defeat.

Source: Punch June 23, 2019 19:07 UTC