Aubameyang confident Gabon will recover: 'We remain positive'

Gabon brought it on itself in the Africa Cup of Nations’ inaugural fixture, failing to take control versus Guinea-Bissau after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tallied the tournament’s first goal, and settling for a 1-1 draw.

But Gabon isn’t panicking.

Speaking on Sunday, Aubameyang expressed confidence in Gabon’s chances at the Africa Cup of Nations, pointing out that Les Pantheres are on home soil and dismissing Guinea-Bissau’s 90th-minute equaliser as a “mistake.”

“We remain positive,” Aubameyang said, according to BBC Sport. “We’re at home, it is a big advantage. We want to achieve something. It is up to us to win the next game.”

Aubameyang added: “We made a mistake (giving away a late goal) but it is up to us to rectify the problem. Obviously the result was not ideal to start with. The first half was difficult. We began with a little stress, we were a little tense. Unfortunately in the end, we let in a goal that we should not have conceded. It was a mistake that we should not have made. It will teach us not to repeat it.”

When Aubameyang opened the scoring, it marked the third time the Gabonese forward had scored the first goal at an Africa Cup of Nations, as he did so in 2012 and 2015.

Aubameyang is out for redemption. At the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, which was co-hosted by Gabon, he was the only player to miss a penalty kick as Les Pantheres were knocked out of the competition in the quarter-finals.