DR Congo and Ivory Coast Secure Impressive Opening Victories in Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers

The Democratic Republic of the Congo kicked off the group qualifiers for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 home victory over Equatorial Guinea, building on their recent World Cup exploits. Captain Chancel Mbemba opened the scoring with a header in the fourth minute, and Yoane Wissa secured the second goal 18 minutes from time in Kinshasa on Thursday. The margin of victory could have been even larger as the hosts struck the woodwork twice and had two goals disallowed for offside.

This marked the first appearance for the Congolese team since they advanced through the first phase of the World Cup for the first time and pushed England in their last-32 match in Atlanta in July. However, home celebrations were subdued as crowd capacity at the Stade des Martyrs was capped at 20,000 due to sanctions stemming from fan violence following a defeat against Senegal in World Cup qualification a year prior.

In other Thursday early fixtures, Mauritania and Namibia claimed victories, while Libya secured a dramatic 2-2 draw at home against Botswana courtesy of a last-minute penalty in Tripoli, where the venue was also closed to supporters due to past fan incidents. Botswana forward Tumisang Orebonye netted twice in the opening half to establish a commanding lead, but Maruwan Alhibeeshi narrowed the deficit in the 87th minute with a powerful strike. A late, clumsy challenge by Botswana substitute Mothusi Cooper resulted in a stoppage-time penalty, allowing Ezoo El Mariamy to equalize.

Mauritania triumphed 3-1 over the Central African Republic in Casablanca, Morocco, featuring a brilliant chipped shot over the goalkeeper by Dawda Camara, while Bethuel Muzeu scored the decisive goal as Namibia edged Congo 1-0.

In Group C action, Ivory Coast defeated Ghana 2-0 during a derby match in Bouake. Malick Yalcouye broke the deadlock in the first half with a brilliant long-range strike, though Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi will feel he should have stopped the near-post shot. Franck Kessie later sealed the win by converting a second-half penalty, sending the opposing goalkeeper the wrong way. Ghana, who missed out on the 2025 edition of AFCON, struggled offensively, failing to record a shot on target until the 75th minute while surrendering 61 percent of possession to Ivory Coast.

Elsewhere, Cameroon defeated Comoros 3-1, and Tunisia played out a 1-1 draw with Uganda in other notable fixtures.