It was a good day for Algeria's Vladimir Petkovic and Tunisia's Faouzi Benzarti in 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, but Ghana's Otto Addo started with an agonising defeat.
Burundi kicked the day off with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Malawi in Group L at the Bingu National Stadium.
Chimwemwe Idana's own-goal (22') gave the Swallows the lead in Lilongwe before Chawanangwa Kawonga (31') levelled matters, but Jean-Claude Girumugisha (33') quickly restored their lead, only for Lanjesi Nkhoma (75') to equalise once more for the Flames.
The visitors would not be denied though, Mokono Eldhino struck three minutes from time to secure a valuable away win.
Central African Republic took early control of Group B after they ran out convincing 3-1 victors over Lesotho at the Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium in Morocco.
The Wild Beasts raced into a 2-0 lead courtesy of a brace from Louis Mafouta (1', 24') and although Motebang Sera (56') halved the deficit early in the second half, Goduine Koyalipou sealed the win six minutes later.
Angola caused an upset in Kumasi after they clinched a dramatic 1-0 win against Ghana at the Baba Yara Stadium.
The Black Stars created the majority of chances and Neblu pulled off two fine saves which proved crucial as Milson stepped off the bench to score a last-gasp winner for the Black Sable Antelopes in the 93rd minute.
Elsewhere, Bura's solitary goal (14') handed Guinea-Bissau a 1-0 win against Eswatini at the Estadio 24 de Setembro, and Congo beat South Sudan by the same scoreline at the Stade Alphonse Massemba-Debat thanks to Chandrel Massanga's 12th-minute winner.
In the late kick-offs, Ferjani Sassi (90+8') struck deep into stoppage time as Tunisia scraped to a 1-0 victory over Madagascar at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, while second-half goals from Houssem Aouar (69') and Amine Gouiri (90+5') saw Algeria beat Equatorial Guinea 2-0 at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium.
RESULTS
Malawi 2-3 Burundi
Central African Republic 3-1 Lesotho
Ghana 0-1 Angola
Guinea-Bissau 1-0 Eswatini
Congo 1-0 South Sudan
Tunisia 1-0 Madagascar
Algeria 1-0 Equatorial Guinea