English Premiership duo Diomansy Kamara and Henri Camara were on target as Senegal overcame Namibia 3-1 in Dakar as the countdown to the 2008 African Cup of Nations continued this weekend.
Guinea defeated Sudan in Spain for the second time within 24 hours, but after dishing out a 6-0 drubbing on the first occasion, this time they had to settle for a lone-goal victory.
A waterlogged pitch on the Iranian island of Kish dashed Mali’s hopes of match practice ahead of the biennial tournament from January 20 to February 10 in the Ghanaian cities of Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi and Tamale.
Fulham midfielder Kamara gave the ”Teranga Lions” an early lead only for Brian Brendell to level 18 minutes into the second half as Namibia tried to halt a run of four consecutive losses.
But the ”Brave Warriors” from the south-west of the continent could not contain 2002 runners-up Senegal in the closing stages and Kamara scored a second before West Ham striker Camara put the result beyond doubt.
Potential Nations Cup surprise packets Senegal tackle fellow qualifiers Benin in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou on Wednesday while Namibia have completed their warm-up programme.
Swtizerland-based defender Kamille Zayatte scored the winner as Guinea edged Sudan 1-0 in the southern Spanish town of Estepona, a result that brought some relief to the losers.
Apart from a 6-0 thrashing by Guinea the previous day, Sudan crumbled 5-2 against Belgian club Genk and were beaten 2-0 by a virtual second string Nigeria side as they prepare for a first Cup appearance in 32 years.
Adding to the pressure on ”Desert Hawks” coach Mohamed Abdallah are injuries to goalkeeper Bahaeddine Abdalla and defender Abdallah Jibril which could force them out of the tournament. – Sapa-AFP