Serhou Guirassy (27) made his comeback in the last group game of the Africa Cup. However, he will not be able to play for VfB Stuttgart again for the time being
Guirassy was in the starting line-up for the 2-0 defeat to defending champions and tournament favorites Senegal on Tuesday evening, his first appearance on the pitch since suffering a thigh strain in a preparation match against Nigeria just over two weeks ago. As a result, he missed Guinea’s opening game against Cameroon altogether and at least made the bench for the 1-0 win over Gambia in the second group game, but the Swabian attacker did not feature.
Now the second-placed scorer in the Bundesliga (17 goals in 14 games) was on the pitch from the start and played 63 minutes before Guirassy was substituted. “I’m glad to have got a few minutes today,” he said afterwards. “I feel good again now and ready to play. “
Just before his substitution, Guinea had conceded 0:1, followed by another goal shortly before the end. This – and Cameroon’s last-minute win in the parallel match – meant that Guinea slipped to third place in the group, but they are already one of the four best third-placed teams in the group and will therefore progress to the round of 16. Even before kick-off, Guinea’s place in the round of 16 was no longer in doubt. Guirassy’s return to VfB, who lost their first two Bundesliga games of the year in Mönchengladbach and Bochum without their top scorer, will therefore be delayed even further.
In the round of 16, Guirassy and Guinea will face the surprise team from Equatorial Guinea, who sensationally won Group A with co-favorites Nigeria and hosts Ivory Coast. The match will be played next Sunday – one day after Stuttgart’s home game against RB Leipzig.
“It was a tough game today. Maybe we could have done more and made better use of our chances,” said Guirassy on Tuesday evening. “We have to wait and know our fate. “
