Madagascar earned a vital point in their AFCON debut against a much-fancied Guinea side.
The game ended in a 2-2 draw after Madagascar came back from a goal down to take a 2-1 lead in the second half only to concede a goal later on in the game.
Sory Kaba opened the scoring for the Guinean side in the 34th minute, controlling a beautifully lobbed pass from Amadou Diawaru and chipping over the onrushing goalkeeper before passing the ball into the back of the net.
Anicet Abel equalized for the Madagascan side from a header connecting with Andria’s corner kick in the 49th minute.
Provider turned goalscorer in the 55th minute for Madagascar as Andria found the back of the net with the Guinean defense falling asleep and allowing him to calmly slot the ball home.
The introduction of Naby Keita added some bite to the Guinean side once again as they sought to fight back from a game they were in control of not long ago but as this AFCON has taught us already, no team is to be underestimated.
Guinea got their vital equalizer however from the spot when Ibrahim Traore was brought down in the penalty box. Francois Kamano stepped up and scored from 12 yards to ensured both teams shared the spoils at the end
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For Madagascar, this is a great showing as it was their first ever game in an AFCON and it should give them a lot of confidence heading into the other group games. The winner of the group after the first round is Nigeria who earlier beat Burundi 1-0.
