Marseille striker Ismaila Sarr starred as defending Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal eased their way into the last 16 with a 3-1 win over Cameroon.
Sarr’s deflected strike gave his side a 16th-minute lead and it was he who set up fellow frontman Habib Diallo after the break before Sadio Mane cemented victory at Stade Charles Konan Banny in stoppage time to guarantee his side’s progression from Group C.
Cameroon responded belatedly when Jean-Charles Castelletto powered home a header from Olivier Ntcham’s 83rd-minute cross and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou has guilty of a glaring miss before Mane scored, but Rigobert Song’s men will head into Tuesday’s final group fixture against Gambia with just a single point to their name.
Senegal went ahead after the Cameroon defence failed to deal with Pape Sarr’s 16th-minute corner.
The ball was fed back in to Sarr after goalkeeper Andre Onana had punched it to the edge of the box and he drilled in a low right-footed shot which took a slight deflection off Frank Anguissa and flew into the net.
The Indomitable Lions did not muster a single attempt on goal in the opening 45 minutes and might have fallen further behind six minutes before the break but for Enzo Tchato’s block after Lamine Camara had put Mane in on goal.
Aliou Cisse’s men continued to make the running after the restart, but Olivier Kemen got a sight of goal at the other end, only to loop his 55th-minute header from a deep free-kick high over.
Cameroon’s fortunes took a further turn for the worse with 19 minutes remaining when Sarr turned provider with a low cross for Habib Diallo to make it 2-0 from close range.
Castelletto gave Song’s side hope with seven minutes remaining and they should have been level when Nkoudou headed inexplicably wide in injury time before Mane wrapped up the points.
Brighton announce Hurzeler as new head coach
Brighton have announced that Fabian Hurzeler has become their new head coach, a club statement confirmed on Saturday.
Hurzeler, 31, signed a three-year deal and arrives at the Amex having led St Pauli to the Bundesliga 2 title last season by winning 20 of their 34 matches.
“From the start of the process to appoint our new head coach, Fabian was always a standout candidate and one who had caught our attention with his exceptional work at St Pauli over the past eighteen months," Chairman Tony Bloom said.
“He has a style of play that aligns with how we want a Brighton & Hove Albion team to play, and I’m confident it is one our supporters will appreciate and enjoy.
“Fabian also has an excellent coaching pedigree and has worked with the German federation at various age group levels. We are really excited to start working with Fabian to prepare for the upcoming season.”
Brighton's rise under the stewardship of De Zerbi has been admired by many, with the Italian helping the club qualify for Europe for the first time in their history at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
While the Seagulls finished just inside the bottom half of the Premier League table last season, they reached the last 16 of the Europa League, with Hurzeler looking forward to building on the solid foundations laid by the man before him.
"The club has made incredible progress over the last few seasons and the aim is to continue building on that success," Huerzeler said.
"I am relishing the opportunity to coach in the Premier League, and I can't wait to meet the players, staff and, of course, the fans."
France stars excited by Kante's return for Euro 2024 ahead of Austria opener
France are preparing to open their Euro 2024 campaign against Austria on Monday, and Les Bleus cannot wait to welcome back a familiar face in N'Golo Kante.
The former Chelsea man has been hampered by hamstring issues before requiring surgery, while his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad saw Kante dropped by Didier Deschamps.
Diminutive midfielder Kante had not appeared in international football over the last two years but made his return to Les Bleus' squad for the tournament in Germany.
Calling upon years of trophy-winning experience in the middle, Kante's France team-mates have been impressed with the 33-year-old's efforts in warm-up friendlies against Luxembourg and Canada.
"I had the impression that there were three of him," French forward Marcus Thurman joked at a press conference on Saturday.
"There's no time to play in training any more. As soon as we have him on our team, we win. He has reminded us in a week why he was one of the greatest midfielders in Europe."
Olivier Giroud echoed a similar sentiment when praising the two-time Premier League champion on Friday.
"He has not changed," veteran Giroud said. "He is the same player I have known for years in the national team and at Chelsea. He is everywhere. It's great to have him with us."
The 55-cap international appears set to start when France open their Group D campaign against Austria in Dusseldorf, if Deschamps' high praise last week is anything to go by.
"For those who had doubts about his abilities and the intensity of play, he is still at the same level," said Deschamps after Kante's surprise recall.
"Even though he hasn't been here for a while, he's not out of place."
Yamal makes history with Spain start at Euro 2024
Lamine Yamal has become the youngest-ever player to appear in a European Championships game, at 16 years and 338 days old.
Yamal started as Spain began their Euro 2024 campaign against Croatia in Berlin on Saturday.
He breaks the record previously set by Poland's Kacper Kozlowski, who played for the Eagles at Euro 2020 aged 17 years and 246 days.
Yamal is making just his eighth appearance for his country, with Spain boss Luis de la Fuente saying in his press conference on Friday that Yamal and fellow winger Nico Williams "have a gift from God".
Meanwhile, on the other side Croatia's Luka Modric, at 38 years and 280 days, is the oldest outfield player to play at the tournament since Lothar Matthaus for Germany against Portugal in June 2000 (39 years, 91 days).
He starts alongside Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic in midfield, with the experienced trio boasting an impressive 372 international caps between them.
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