Ivory Coast, Egypt and Morocco all recorded opening wins on a busy Friday in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers, while Senegal were held at home by Burkina Faso.
The Elephants, who are the reigning Afcon champions, just about got the better of Zambia 2-0 in one of five night matches on the day, with Jean-Philippe Krasso’s second-half brace proving enough to secure them all three points in their Group G clash in Bouake.
Egypt proved far too powerful for Cape Verde in the teams’ Group C meeting at the Cairo International Stadium, claiming a 3-0 triumph thanks to goals from Rami Rabia, Omar Marmoush and Ibrahim Adel.
Morocco – who will host the 2025 Afcon – thrashed Gabon 4-1 in a Group B match in Agadir.
There were four penalties in the first half: Hakim Ziyech scored twice from the spot for the Atlas Lions, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed one and converted one, as the hosts were 2-1 up at the break.
Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi then made the game safe for the North Africans with their second-half goals.
Senegal, however, had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Burkina Faso in Group L.
The Teranga Lions looked on course for a full haul of points thanks to Sadio Mane’s early goal, but a 95th-minute equaliser from the Stallions’ Ousseni Bouda changed the narrative in Dakar drastically.
Also in the night games, Mali and Mozambique drew 1-1 in a Group I game in Bamako. The Mambas led through Geny Catamo, but Yves Bissouma levelled for the Eagles.
MBATHA SAVE SA'S BLUSHES
The headline result from the early-evening kick-offs came from Soweto, where South Africa needed a last-gasp equaliser from debutant Thalente Mbatha to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Uganda in Group K.
Bafana Bafana completely dominated the first half and opened the scoring via Lyle Foster, but a failure to convert several other scoring chances cost them dearly, with the Cranes roaring back in the second half via two stunning long-range goals from Denis Omedi and Rogers Mato.
The East Africans looked destined for a famous away win, but Mbatha struck a superb equaliser from the edge of the box to spare the hosts’ blushes.
Elsewhere in the early-evening matches, Sierra Leone and Chad played to a 0-0 draw in Group G; Liberia struck an injury-time equaliser via William Gibson to hold Togo 1-1 in a Group E in Lome; and DR Congo got off to a winning start in Group H by defeating Guinea 1-0 in Kinshasa courtesy of Edo Kayembe’s first-half strike.
The lone afternoon game saw Kenya and Zimbabwe play to a goalless stalemate in a Group J match at the Nelson Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
The Afcon qualifiers continue on Saturday 7 September with three matches: Mauritania v Botswana, Nigeria v Benin, and Cameroon v Namibia.
AFCON QUALIFIERS RESULTS, FRIDAY 6 SEPTEMBER
Kenya 0-0 Zimbabwe
DR Congo 1-0 Guinea
Sierra Leone 0-0 Chad
South Africa 2-2 Uganda
Togo 1-1 Liberia
Morocco 4-1 Gabon
Egypt 3-0 Cape Verde
Ivory Coast v Zambia
Mali 1-1 Mozambique
Senegal 1-1 Burkina Faso