Guinea left-back Issiaga Sylla scored a first-half goal to steer his side to a fortunate 1-0 victory over depleted Malawi in an entertaining Africa Cup of Nations Group B clash at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam on Monday.

Malawi, making a third appearance at the finals and first since 2010, had 13 members of their squad unavailable following a COVID-19 outbreak in their camp, which meant they could only name four players on the bench that included two goalkeepers.

But they missed numerous chances to claim something from the game and were left to rue their profligacy after 35 minutes when Naby Keita released Jose Kante to slide a perfect pass for Sylla to score from close range