African Champions Senegal, Burkina-Faso and Egypt are amongst the teams that registered victories in their opening 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches. 

Group B: Hassane Bande and Dango Ouattara were the scorers as the second half from Burkina Faso ensured a 2-0 win over Cape Verde in their opening match of the qualifiers for the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations played in Marrakech, Morocco, on Friday.

In the group other match Togo played to a 2-2 draw against visiting Swaziland at the Stade de Kégué In Lome. The home side twice thought they were on the winning end, but a hard fighting eSwatini held on for a point on the opening day of Group B action.

Group C – Kazakhstan-based striker Bonfils Caleb Bimenyimana scored a late goal to help Burundi hold Namibia to a 1-1 draw in their opening 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.

Group D – Mostafa Mohamed’s deflected strike in the 87th minute handed Egypt a slim 1-0 victory over Syli national de guinéeas as the home side, the Pharaohs started their qualification to next year’s TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations on a victorious note.

Guinea was looking set to guard a draw away from home, but Mohamed snatched the three points at the Cairo International Stadium, giving new head coach Ehab Galal a perfect start in his new tenure.

The win takes Egypt second in Group D with three points, the same as Malawi, who earlier started their campaign with a 2-1 victory at home over Ethiopia.

Group E – Ghana is top of the table after amassing four points in their opening two 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns beating Madagascar 3-0 in Cape Coast on Wednesday night and drawing 1-1 away to the Central African Republic on Sunday.

The Palancas Negras are second behind Ghana after drawing a 1-1 draw with Madagascar at the Stade Municipal Mahamasina in Antananarivo to go level on points with Ghana at the top of the group.

Angola came from behind to earn a point against Madagascar to ensure they kept it tight close to Ghana.

Group L – African Champions defeated Mali 3-1 as Sadio Mane made history when he scored a hat-trick in Dakar to become Senegal’s record goalscorer.

The Liverpool forward scored twice from the penalty spot and netted another in Dakar to move onto 32 goals in 90 games for his country.

Mane’s treble moved him beyond Henri Camara’s tally of 31 for the champions of Africa.

📹 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: 🇲🇬 1-1 🇦🇴

Gelson scores again as he earns Angola a hard-fought point against Madagascar in the second #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 group E game of the day!@Faffutebol pic.twitter.com/VFXide8sCr

— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 5, 2022

📹 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: 🇲🇼 2-1 🇪🇹

Malawi beat Ethiopia to kick off their #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 journey with 3️⃣ points@FaMalawi | @footballethiop pic.twitter.com/8284zw46oW

— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 5, 2022

📹 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒: 🇬🇲 1-0 🇸🇸

Ablie Jallow's late first-half goal was enough to seal a crucial win for the Gambia over South Sudan in round one of the #TotalEnergiesAFCONQ2023 🦂 @ssfa_com | @TheGambiaFF pic.twitter.com/m8TkF4EYlK

— CAF (@CAF_Online) June 4, 2022

African Football News – Follow us on Twitter @football_sierra On Facebook & Instagram: Football Sierra Leone.

Sao Tome & Principe will now face Guinea-Bissau this month in Morocco after winning their appeal.

The Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) Appeals Board has overturned the ruling by its Disciplinary board that Sao Tome had fielded an ineligible player during their preliminary round tie.

Sao Tome will join Group A of the 2023 Nations Cup qualifiers alongside Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone.

As a result, Sao Tome and Principe, not Mauritius, will face Guinea-Bissau in Morocco and Nigeria’s Super Eagles in the opening two qualifiers this month.

“The Football Federation of Guinea-Bissau, at the end of the afternoon of Tuesday, May 31, received a letter from CAF, in which it mentions that now the game of the first match of Group A will be against São Tomé and Prince, in place of the Islands M earphones.”

Guinea-Bissau will host Sao Tome in the Moroccan city of Agadir due to Guinea-Bissau being one of several African nations whose stadium failed to meet Caf international standards.

After winning their appeal, Sao Tome & Principe is now poised to face Nigeria’s Super Eagles on matchday two of the AFCON 2023 qualifiers this month. 

African Football News – Follow us on Twitter @football_sierra On Facebook & Instagram: Football Sierra Leone.