The Scorpions of Gambia have done it with a historic debut win at the African Cup of Nations. 

Gambia started their Group F opener with a comfortable 1-0 win over neighbour and rival Mauritania. 

Ablie Jallow’s superb strike gave The Scorpions the lead early in the first-half, and that proved to be enough for the three points as Gambia top Group F.

Jallow gave his side the lead in the tenth minute, as he took one touch before firing a brilliant effort right into the corner of the net from just outside of the box.

Mauritania grew into it from that moment and they had much the better of the first-half despite the scoreline.

Gambia were bright after the break and had a number of chances to double their lead.

With the top two in each group progressing, as well as the four best third-placed teams, Gambia are well-placed to make it into the knockout stages on their tournament debut. 

If they succeed in making the knockout stages, they will be the third debutant to have ever reached that milestone.