00:00Let's turn to the Africa Cup of Nations now and bring you today's matches.
00:04Uganda is playing Tanzania in just a couple of hours,
00:07while favourites Nigeria will face off against Tunisia in Group C.
00:11Meanwhile, Benin is playing Botswana,
00:13while Senegal will take on the Democratic Republic of Congo in Group D.
00:18Our sports reporter Selena Sykes is in Tanzania ahead of the showdown
00:22between powerhouses Senegal and DR Congo.
00:25Selena, Senegal are hoping to lay down their credentials as big favourites later this evening.
00:31Will that be easy for them?
00:36Well, Camille, they definitely come into this competition as the big favourites alongside Morocco.
00:41But the Atlas Lions dropped points last night, so anything can happen at this AFCON.
00:46But the Lions of Taranga will be hoping to get their second title
00:51after having won their first backer in 2020.
00:55They won, they got a comfortable 3-0 win in their opener against Botswana,
01:00thanks to a double by Nicolas Jackson, the Bayern Munich striker.
01:05It's just one in a team full of talent, obviously led by their talisman, Sadio Mane.
01:11There's also a lot of Premier League stars in this Senegal squad.
01:15A strong pool of strength, a lot of strength up front especially, and they're also led by an experienced defence with Ndouard Mendy in goal and ex-Premier League goalkeeper and Koulibaly in defence.
01:39So an experienced, a talented squad here for Senegal.
01:43If they manage to beat DR Congo here later on today, that will be another three points for them in the bag,
01:51which will see them through to the last 16.
01:53We've come across a few fans during our travels here and they're feeling pretty confident, Camille.
01:58Let's talk about DR Congo now, because there's a lot of talk about them being the dark horses at this AFCON, aren't they?
02:05That's right, Camille. They reached the semi-finals at the last edition in the Ivory Coast.
02:13They were knocked out by the eventual winners, which were the hosts.
02:17So they're coming into this competition wanting to at least meet that or better that result from the last edition.
02:24They also were in Senegal's World Cup qualifying group and gave them a run for their money.
02:29They did finish in second, but they did very well in those African playoffs.
02:33They saw off Nigeria and Cameroon, so they're used to beating bigger teams, shall we say, on the African continent.
02:42They also have quite a few talented players in their ranks.
02:46They've got Johan Wisser from the Premier League, as well as Noah Siddiqui and Arthur Masuakou from Sunderland.
02:55So they'll be looking probably to finish second in this group.
02:58But if they manage to cause an upset here today or get a draw, they could be a gunning for first place in this group.
03:04It will be a tough one, of course, against the Lions of Taranga.
03:07The fans are hoping that they might be able to cause an upset.
03:10Selena, thank you so much for all your reporting and we look forward to catching up with you later.
Comments