Cameroon were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by resolute 10-man Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations opener in Yamoussoukro.

Mohamed Bayo had given Guinea a shock early lead before captain Francois Kamano was sent off in first-half stoppage time following a VAR review for standing on Frank Magri’s foot.

Magri’s header levelled things up six minutes into the second half, but Cameroon could not find a winner past the well-organised Guinea defence.

Earlier, defending champions Senegal had beaten Gambia 3-0 to sit top of Group C.

Cameroon – missing injured captain Vincent Aboubakar – started with Fabrice Ondoa in goal after bad weather caused travel problems for his cousin Andre Onana, who had flown in from Manchester on a private jet only to be further delayed and not named in the match squad.

Guinea, without Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy, took a shock lead in the 10th minute.

Cameroon midfielder Olivier Kemen lost possession on the edge of the penalty area and Le Havre forward Bayo stabbed the loose ball past Ondoa.

The Indomitable Lions, five-time African champions, looked for a swift response as captain Frank Anguissa headed wide at the far post.

Guinea defender Sekou Sylla tried a long-range effort to catch Ondoa off his line, but the back-pedalling Nimes keeper was relieved to see the ball drop onto the roof of the net.

Guinea, though, were down to 10 men in stoppage time at the end of the first half when Kamano was sent off following a VAR review after standing on Magri’s foot.

Having looked at the challenge again on the pitchside monitor, Libyan referee Ibrahim Mutaz rescinded the original yellow card and showed a red to the forward.

Cameroon equalised six minutes into the second half when Magri got up at the back post to head in Georges-Kevin Nkoudou’s deep cross from the left.

Just after the hour, Guinea midfielder Aguibou Camara burst clear on the right, only to be brought down by Cameroon defender Harold Moukoudi, who was shown a yellow card.

Cameroon pressed for a late winner, with N’Koudou glancing a header wide before Guinea keeper Ibrahim Kone saved from Karl Toko at point-blank range as the 10 men held out.

South Africa boss Hugo Broos has emphasised his desire to win the Africa Cup of Nations for a second time as his side prepare to open their campaign in the Ivory Coast against Mali.

Broos was in charge of Cameroon when they lifted the trophy in Gabon in 2017.

The Belgian is now overseeing a Bafana Bafana outfit making an AFCON return with Tuesday’s Group E clash with Mali in Korhogo, having failed to qualify for the last tournament two years ago, hosted by Cameroon, under Molefi Ntseki.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the match, Broos said: “When you won it once, you want to win it twice.

“It’s a fantastic feeling winning an AFCON. I’m a European but the intensity and joy, everything around winning an AFCON is unique, it’s really unique.

“It was a fantastic experience, and you can be sure that I dream of it, to do it a second time.

“But saying it is much easier than doing it, let’s start tomorrow and do our best and see where we arrive.”

The team are currently 66th in FIFA’s world rankings, 15 places below Mali, who were knocked out in the round of 16 in 2022.

The Eagles, managed by Eric Chelle, have been making checks on midfielder Mohamed Camara.

A statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, by the Malian football federation read: “Mohamed Camara travelled this afternoon to Abidjan where he will undergo an MRI for a final check following the injury contracted with his club, Monaco, a few weeks ago.”

Head coach Amir Abdou hopes Mauritania can be “spoilsports” at the Africa Cup of Nations ahead of their opener against Burkina Faso in Bouake.

Ahead of Tuesday’s contest, Abdou recognises their opponents, who have reached the semi-finals in two of the last three editions, and 2019 champions Algeria are favourites to progress from Group D.

While Mauritania have yet to record a win in their past two appearances in the competition, Abdou senses his side and Angola have nothing to lose as they seek to upset the odds.

“As an outsider, the favourite is Algeria, there’s no contest,” Abdou told reporters. “Burkina Faso have always been there in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.

“These are teams that are always present at the competition. We’ll be the outsiders along with Angola, so we’ll be trying to be the spoilsports.

“We want to have an interesting tournament, and avoid the troubles Mauritania had in the last two editions. That’s our aim: to go and take on the big boys and why not reach the last 16?”

Despite Burkina Faso’s excellent recent record in reaching the latter stages of this competition, the 2013 finalists have never won their opening match with five draws and seven defeats.

His team might be favourites to beat Mauritania but Burkina Faso boss Hubert Velud is taking nothing for granted.

“We will have to be careful, the slightest mistake will be fatal,” he said. “We will make sure to apply ourselves as much as possible to achieve a result.”

Lamine Camara’s double helped Senegal get their Africa Cup of Nations title defence off to a winning start as they recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory over 10-man Gambia.

Pape Gueye put the 2021 champions ahead just four minutes in, while Gambia were reduced to 10 men when Cardiff midfielder Ebou Adams was sent off on the stroke of half-time.

Camara doubled their lead – seven minutes after the break – and wrapped up victory in style with a stunning curling strike in the closing stages.

Senegal took the lead in the fourth minute when Camara’s cross was cleared as far as Sadio Mane and the former Liverpool forward laid the ball off to Gueye on the edge of the box, who smashed it first time into the bottom corner.

Musa Barrow fired a free-kick from a tight angle into the side-netting for Gambia and compatriot Ali Sowe had a great chance from a corner, but the cross was slightly too high as his header flashed wide.

Gambia were handed a blow when – just before the break – Adams was shown a red card, eight minutes into first-half stoppage-time.

The Teranga Lions took advantage of their extra player seven minutes into the second-half when Ismaila Sarr played Camara through and he tucked the ball into the bottom corner to extend their lead.

They were nearly gifted a third when Yankuba Minteh found Habib Diallo in the six-yard box, but goalkeeper Baboucarr Gaye managed to smother the attempt.

Gambia had two half-chances from Omar Colley, but Senegal remained in control with Gaye being called into action again to deny Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson from close range.

Camara capped off the afternoon as he completed his brace in the 86th minute when Iliman Ndiaye weaved past the Gambia defence to find the Metz midfielder, who curled the ball first time into the top right-hand corner from 25 yards out to seal victory.

Tunisia head coach Jalel Kadri has warned his players the opening matches of the Africa Cup of Nations have already shown they can take nothing for granted in the tournament.

Tunisia are strong favourites for their Group E opener against Namibia, but Kadri pointed to Ghana’s shock defeat to Cape Verde and Mozambique’s draw against Egypt on Sunday when saying that upsets are always possible.

“Namibia is a serious opponent, and we don’t have any easy team,” Kadri said. “The results in the opening rounds have shown that there is no small team in Africa as we saw, so we need to show them respect and play to our best ability. The opening matches have shown that.”

While Tunisia are taking part in their 21st edition of the tournament, Namibia have qualified for only the fourth time in their history. On each of their previous appearances they finished bottom of their group, and they have lost seven of their nine matches.

Tunisia cruised through qualifying, conceding only one goal in six games, but have reason to be wary having failed to win any of their last four opening fixtures at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The goal for the 2004 winners is to improve on last time out, when they reached the quarter-finals, but Kadri must prove wrong a number of doubters back home, and will be without the retired Wahbi Khazri and young midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, who has made himself unavailable to sort out his club future.

“We will try to go as far as possible,” he said. “We have teams that are good quality so we will try to win each match and go as far as possible. We must be respectful to all opponents.

“There are Africa’s best teams that are present, so ours is to do our best in every match and take it game by game.”

Garry Rodrigues scored a stoppage-time winner as Cape Verde beat Chris Hughton’s four-time winners Ghana 2-1 to go top of Group B in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Rodrigues took advantage of a mix-up in the Ghana defence to tap the ball into an empty net and give his side a deserved victory in Abidjan.

Jamiro Monteiro had put the islanders ahead in the 17th minute and Ghana had a goal ruled out by the VAR before Alexander Djiku got them back on level terms with a stooping header, 10 minutes into the second half.

Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori made two vital saves before substitute Rodrigues pounced at the death to secure all three points.

It was another disappointing result for the Black Stars, who last won the title in 1982 and failed to get out of the group stages in 2021.

Hughton’s side were without West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus due to injury but it was defensive lapses which proved costly and Monteiro was left with a simple tap-in to open the scoring after Ofori palmed a shot from Jovane Cabral straight into his path.

Ghana thought they had equalised in the 36th minute when Majeed Ashimeru rifled a superb long-range strike into the bottom corner, only for it to be ruled out following a lengthy VAR check.

Referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo eventually decided that Ransford Konigsdorffer, who had unwittingly hit the post moments earlier when the ball was palmed onto his head by Vozinha, was blocking the view of the goalkeeper inside the area.

Djiku did equalise in the 56th minute as he headed home Jordan Ayew’s corner and the defender also produced a vital block at the other end from Bebe’s scuffed shot.

But just as the game looked set to fizzle out, Gilson Benchimol took advantage of a blunder from Mohammed Salisu to nip in front of Ofori and set up Rodrigues for the easiest of winners.

Garry Rodrigues scored a stoppage-time winner as Cape Verde beat Chris Hughton’s four-time winners Ghana 2-1 to go top of Group B in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Rodrigues took advantage of a mix-up in the Ghana defence to tap the ball into an empty net and give his side a deserved victory in Abidjan.

Jamiro Monteiro had put the islanders ahead in the 17th minute and Ghana had a goal ruled out by the VAR before Alexander Djiku got them back on level terms with a stooping header, 10 minutes into the second half.

Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori made two vital saves before substitute Rodrigues pounced at the death to secure all three points.

It was another disappointing result for the Black Stars, who last won the title in 1982 and failed to get out of the group stages in 2021.

Hughton’s side were without West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus due to injury but it was defensive lapses which proved costly and Monteiro was left with a simple tap-in to open the scoring after Ofori palmed a shot from Jovane Cabral straight into his path.

Ghana thought they had equalised in the 36th minute when Majeed Ashimeru rifled a superb long-range strike into the bottom corner, only for it to be ruled out following a lengthy VAR check.

Referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo eventually decided that Ransford Konigsdorffer, who had unwittingly hit the post moments earlier when the ball was palmed onto his head by Vozinha, was blocking the view of the goalkeeper inside the area.

Djiku did equalise in the 56th minute as he headed home Jordan Ayew’s corner and the defender also produced a vital block at the other end from Bebe’s scuffed shot.

But just as the game looked set to fizzle out, Gilson Benchimol took advantage of a blunder from Mohammed Salisu to nip in front of Ofori and set up Rodrigues for the easiest of winners.

Mohamed Salah scored a stoppage-time penalty as Egypt salvaged a 2-2 draw with Mozambique in their opening Africa Cup of Nations game.

The seven-time AFCON champions took an early lead through Mostafa Mohamed, only for Mozambique to turn the game on its head with two goals in four second-half minutes through Witi and Clesio.

But Mozambique’s hopes of an historic win were crushed seven minutes into added time when Salah converted from the spot after a VAR check ruled there had been a foul on Mohamed.

Egypt were straight out of the blocks and went ahead just two minutes in. A cross found Salah and the Liverpool forward’s mis-hit his shot allowed Mohamed to pounce on the ball, neatly turning around Edmilson Dove and firing low into the bottom corner.

They nearly doubled their lead when Salah broke from a Mozambique attack and threaded the ball to Mohamed, but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper.

Witi went close when he sliced his shot wide before Egypt had another great chance to extend advantage lead as Mahmoud Trezeguet smashed the ball off the post.

Mohamed El Shenawy had to react following a poor attempted clearance from Mohamed Hamdy, the Pharaohs goalkeeper clawing the ball over the bar to maintain his side’s lead.

Mozambique continued to push in the second half, though, and got their reward in the 55th minute when Domingos Macandza’s cross picked out Witi, who headed into the bottom corner, with El Shenawy getting a hand to the ball but unable to keep it out.

The Mambas then took the lead three minutes later when, after a good team move, Clesio evaded Ahmed Hegazi’s tackle and burst through the middle before coolly slotting past El Shenawy.

Zizo blasted wide for Egypt from outside the box and they continued to push for the equaliser, Hamdy Fathy flicking the ball past the post before an unmarked Salah sliced wide.

And Mozambique’s hopes of a famous triumph were finally dashed deep into stopage time, when Egypt were awarded a late penalty following a VAR check for a foul on Mohamed and Salah fired home from the spot.

Rigobert Song believes the Africa Cup of Nations returning to Ivory Coast could be a harbinger of good fortune for Cameroon ahead of their opening fixture against Guinea.

The only previous occasion the Ivorians had staged the tournament in 1984 was when Cameroon went all the way, coming from behind to beat Nigeria 3-1 in the final in Abidjan.

It was their first taste of success in the competition and – while they have lifted the trophy on four more occasions since then – Song sees the symbolism attached to their return to Ivory Coast.

The Cameroon head coach said in quotes on the tournament’s official website: “Why not repeat history and repeat the feat of 1984? We did not come just to participate.

“There is a history between Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire. We were heroes in 1984 and I think we should not forget the history.

“We are a family. We won our first title in here and that’s why we visited the grave of the first president of Cote d’Ivoire when we came here.”

Cameroon will be without captain and star striker Vincent Aboubakar, who suffered a thigh injury on Friday that places a question mark over his availability for the rest of the campaign.

Speaking ahead of Cameroon’s Group C opener, Song said: “The absence of Aboubakar is a loss because he is a leader and has shown his ability for years. The other players are ready.”

Cameroon, who settled for a third-place finish in 2021, will take on defending champions Senegal after Guinea but Song was wary of looking too far ahead.

Song added: “The first matches in such competitions are very important, we will be ready. All teams that will participate in the competition come with certain goals.

“Guinea is a good team and we also know who we are going to face and we will give everything we have.”

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse insists his side are embracing the pressure of defending their Africa Cup of Nations title.

Senegal lifted the trophy for the first time in Cameroon two years ago, beating Egypt on penalties in the final after the game had finished 0-0.

The Teranga Lions are among the favourites to triumph in the Ivory Coast this year and get their campaign under way against Gambia in Group C on Monday.

“The pressure that exists is a positive pressure which motivates us to win, but I have a lot of experience because I will have my fourth experience with Senegal as coach during the Africa Cup of Nations,” Cisse told a pre-match press conference.

“There are many candidates for the continental title and Senegal is not the only favourite to win the title.

“We now have a new challenge. Yesterday has passed, which was the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, and today there is the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.”

Gambia, who reached the quarter-finals on their debut in the competition two years ago before losing to hosts Cameroon, suffered a frightening start to their campaign when their initial flight to the Ivory Coast had to be aborted last week, just minutes after leaving Banjul.

Head coach Tom Saintfiet believes a lack of oxygen prompted many of his players to fall asleep and praised the pilot for quickly realising there was a problem.

Saintfiet told BBC Sport Africa: “The local crew said there was a problem with the air conditioning before we took off but that it would be all fine when we took off.

“After a few minutes it was very hot in the plane. We all fell asleep because there was a lack of oxygen – some of the players couldn’t be woken up. The pilot noticed and we had to return.

“People got headaches and, if the flight had gone on for another 30 minutes, the whole team would have died.

“The strange thing is that the oxygen masks didn’t come out – it’s good that the pilot realised that this was a deadly situation and so turned back. But we are still in shock.”

Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations Group A opening encounter in Abidjan.

Three-time AFCON champions Nigeria threatened early, but it was Equatorial Guinea who took a surprise lead through Iban Salvador in the 36th minute.

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen issued a near-instant reply when he headed home Ademola Lookman’s cross less than two minutes later to ensure the sides were square at the break.

Osimhen squandered the best opportunity of the second half, when heavy favourites Nigeria were forced to settle while their underdog opposition walked away with a valuable point.

Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi tested Equatorial Guinea keeper Jesus Owono within the first 20 seconds, the start of a sustained spell of attack for Jose Peseiro’s side.

The Super Eagles nearly found their opener after 10 minutes when Alhassan Yusuf delivered a fine cross to Zaidu Sanusi at the back post, but the Porto left-back directed his effort over the crossbar.

Nigeria looked likelier to break the deadlock, but it was Juan Micha’s men who found themselves ahead just after the half-hour mark.

After some patient build-up, Monza’s Jose Machin squared to Salvador, who sent Nigeria keeper Stanley Nwabali went the wrong way with a low finish to the bottom left.

However, celebrations were cut short when, just over a minute later, African Footballer of the Year Osimhen connected with Lookman’s cross and headed home.

Sanusi wasted a chance after the break and Owono came out to deny Osimhen soon after as Nigeria continued to apply pressure, and there was bad news for the Super Eagles when Yusuf was carried off on a stretcher after 69 minutes.

Ola Aina had forced Owono into another save seconds before, and Osimhen, again wearing a protective face mask, missed a huge chance when he found himself through on goal but fired wide from the edge of the six-yard box.

Nwabali was called into a rare test in second-half stoppage time, when his side staging a frenzied late surge but came up short of a winner.

Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso lifted tournament hosts Ivory Coast to a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in front of an elated Abidjan crowd to kick off the Africa Cup of Nations.

Fofana fired the Elephants in front inside four minutes at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, punishing their Group A rivals for a lapse at the back, and came inches away from adding another before the break.

Krasso doubled the lead with a volleyed effort to buy his side a bit of breathing room in the 58th minute as former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba looked on from the stands.

The visitors came closest when Mama Balde put Franculino Dju through on goal late in the second half, but they never looked like staging a serious comeback.

Fofana’s opener was the result of a defensive lapse by the visitors, who gave the ball away in a dangerous position allowing the Manchester City academy graduate to latch onto Franck Kessie’s low pass and whip the ball past Guinea-Bissau goalkeeper Ouparine Djoco into the top corner.

Fofana nearly doubled his side’s advantage when he forced Djoco into a brilliant fingertip save, the keeper getting enough contact to push against the crossbar and out of danger.

Despite a decent start from Guinea-Bissau, who did have their chances and made it perhaps a closer contest than some expected for a side 54 places above them in FIFA’s world rankings, the home nation continued to control proceedings after the break.

Another Guinea-Bissau error led to Krasso’s alert effort as he patiently controlled the ball on a bounce inside the area before volleying low into the right corner to seal the result.

Ghana are sweating on the fitness of West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations opener with Cape Verde on Sunday.

Kudus has been in superb form since his move to England and scored 10 goals in all competitions for the Hammers this season.

The ex-Ajax forward arrived for international duty with a minor hamstring injury and manager Chris Hughton admitted he may sit out this weekend’s Group B clash with Cape Verde.

“Mohammed Kudus was the only player who joined us a little bit later because of an injury he sustained, but he is with us now,” Hughton told a press conference.

“We will assess him. We know we have the game tomorrow and we will assess him. With regards to tomorrow, everyone else is fit and well.

“I would have to say most of our preparation has been about how we want to play.

“We have to be aware of Cape Verde’s quality and the threats they have because they are a good team, with very good players but the higher percentage of the work we’ve done is about our style of play and how we want to go about our way of playing.”

Ghana have won this tournament on four occasions, but not tasted success since 1982 and exited in the group stage in 2021.

Andre Ayew is preparing to play in his eighth AFCON and after helping the Black Stars reach two finals is dreaming of going one step further.

Former Swansea attacker Ayew added: “It’s a huge tournament for us as a team. The last tournament was very difficult but being in a lot of tournaments, there were a lot of things that happened for the tournament to go that way.

“We need to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“It is my eighth AFCON and I’ve been sitting here for a few years for a few times now, but the ambition doesn’t change. Since I started in 2008, I have always had the ambition to make sure we bring the trophy home one day.”

Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro maintains he has full belief in the depth of his squad ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations opener against Equatorial Guinea in Abidjan.

The Super Eagles are among the favourites for the tournament as they look to add to their three previous titles, the last of which came in 2013.

Peseiro’s side scored 22 goals in six games during qualifying, which was the highest of the 24 teams who reached the finals.

Much is expected of African footballer of the year Victor Osimhen, the Napoli forward having netted 10 times to help Nigeria on their way to the Ivory Coast.

Leicester forward Kelechi Iheanacho, Terem Moffi, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman are all part of an attack-minded squad.

Peseiro, though, insists it needs a collective effort if the Super Eagles are to live up to their pre-tournament billing.

“I believe in my players – in all of them from the goalkeeper to the striker,” Peseiro told a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Group A match.

“Every team sometimes has more power in certain positions. It happens to all national teams.

“It is my job and responsibility to create a good organisation, but the main point is that I believe in them.”

Nigeria have had to deal with some injury problems, as Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface and Umar Sadiq are all unavailable.

Equatorial Guinea coach Juan Micha, though, knows just what a challenge his side will face at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

“It will be a very complicated match and we will be playing against one of the best teams in Africa,” he said.

Midfielder Trezeguet hopes Egypt’s final heartbreak of 2022 can act as motivation for Africa Cup of Nations success this year.

Egypt have not won the tournament since 2010 and have fallen at the last hurdle in their last two final appearances, more recently two years ago when they lost on penalties to Senegal.

The Pharaohs begin their campaign on Sunday when they take on Mozambique in Group B and Trezeguet is determined to go one step further and pick up the trophy this time around.

The 29-year-old Trabzonspor forward told the tournament’s official website: “It is really difficult to lose two finals.

“It is painful but we will try again to get the title. We must have what we deserve and we hope that this time luck will be on our side and that God will help us.”

Egypt will face Ghana in their next game and will conclude the group stage phase when they play Cape Verde and the former Aston Villa player admits it is not an easy group to progress from.

He added ahead of the opener in Abidjan: “It is a difficult group. It is not easy.

“All the African teams are strong and have very good players. We will play all the matches as finals and see what they look like We came here aiming for a new title.

“Since our arrival, the entire team has only one goal, to go be crowned champions.”