January 23, 2002	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 8, 1422

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BAMAKO, Jan 22: Three wins and two draws have left the five African countries heading to the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea undefeated after the first round of matches at the African Nations Cup finals.

But they have given supporters little to enthuse over.

The five — Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia — have been the subject of the lion’s share of attention at the tournament but have all proven sluggish in their respective opening matches.

Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal all won their first matches but by a slim 1-0 scoreline and with a great deal of difficulty as they turned in mediocre performances, exposing defensive frailties and showing little attacking acumen.

Nigeria were 1-0 winners over Algeria in Bamako on Monday with Julius Aghahowa’s goal the only one scored in four matches played on a dour day of football.

But the Nigerians could well have lost the game against their north African opponents, who squandered several easy opportunities to pull off an upset win in group A.

On Sunday, Senegal were outplayed for a large part of their game against Egypt in group D but won with a late goal from defender Lamine Diatta, who headed the winner from outside the penalty area after the ball had been punched directly at him by the opposing goalkeeping.

Cameroon, despite new-style sleeveless shirts, had to rely on a rocket from key striker Patrick Mboma to give them the three points in their match against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Sikasso on Sunday.

The tournament resumes on Thursday after a two-day break.

MONDAY’S RESULTS:

Group A

In Bamoko:

Algeria 0 Nigeria 1

Group B

In Segou:

Ghana 0 Morocco 0

Group C

In Sikasso:

Ivory Coast 0 Togo 0

Group D

In Bamako:

Zambia 0 Tunisia 0

—Reuters