The second round of matches in Africa's prestigious tournament will take place on Thursday and two teams from Group A are already eyeing qualification into the next stage.

All too soon, we are approaching the business end of the Africa Cup of Nations with the first round of group stage matches coming to a conclusion. The curtain-raiser saw host Cameroon making a statement of intent by defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 inside Stade Omnisport Olembé on Sunday. The Indomitable Lions had to come back from a goal down to secure their first three points, having conceded an acrobatic volley from Gustavo Sangare midway through the first half. Before half-time, captain Vincent Aboubakar led the turnaround by hitting two excellent penalties for the hosts.

With the objective to lift the continental trophy for a sixth time well on the table, Cameroon will hope to book a spot in the knockout stage when they take on Ethiopia. The win over Burkina saw them extending their winning streak across all competitions to five and against Thursday's opponents who have failed to record a single win in their last five outings, a positive result will be expected from Toni Conceição's men.

For Ethiopia, the mission will be to make amends for their opening group game defeat to Cape Verde on Sunday. Going into the encounter, the latter had been affected heavily by Covid-19 but still managed to field a side capable of registering a win. Minutes before the whistle was sounded for the conclusion of the first half, Julio Tavares forced home a diving header after a superb cutback pass from Garry Rodrigues to put Bubista's men ahead. The goal ultimately decided the game as Ethiopia finished the proceeding with 10 men following the sending off of defender Yared Bayeh.

Elsewhere, Burkina Faso and Cape Verde will lockhorns in the other Group A fixture. Both sides experienced different fortunes in the respective opening group games but all that will matter will be the three points at stake.

A win for Les Etalons will put them level on points with the opponent they face while a defeat could see Tubarões Azuis booking a place in the next round with six points after two matches. Having not lost consecutive competitive games in over two years, Burkina Faso will look to play all their cards against the Cape Verdeans to keep hopes alive with the knockout stage of the competition gradually beckoning. 

Predicted starting XI for Cameroon vs Ethiopia

Cameroon: Onana; Fai, Onguene, Ngadeu, Tolo; Kunde, Anguissa, Oum Gouet; Ekambi, Aboubakar, Choupo-Moting

Ethiopia: Shanko; Yusef, Tamene, Debebe, Hamid; Yohannes, Alemu, Dagnachew; Nesir, Kebede, Gebremichael.

Predicted starting XI for Cape Verde vs Burkina Faso

Cape Verde: Rosa; Stopira, Lopes, S. Fortes; D. Tavares, Santos, Borges, J. Fortes; Rodrigues, J. Tavares, Monteiro

Burkina Faso: Koffi; Malo, Yago, Dayo, Kabore; Toure, Guira, Sangare; Konate, Bayala, Traore.

Broadcast listings to watch the 2021 AFCON matches on January 13

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Cameroon 4 - 1 Ethiopia

January 13, 2022 11:00amStade Omnisport Paul Biya (Yaoundé)

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Match details, result and original broadcast info

Cape Verde Islands 0 - 1 Burkina Faso

January 13, 2022 2:00pmStade Omnisport Paul Biya (Yaoundé)

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

Live TV coverage and streaming in United States

Fanatiz USA
beIN SPORTS USA
beIN SPORTS en Español
fuboTV
beIN SPORTS CONNECT U.S.A.