The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers kicked off on Friday, September 6, 2024, delivering a thrilling round of matches across the continent. Teams began their journey to secure a spot in Morocco, with several standout performances and last-minute drama shaping the day's results.

South Africa 2-2 Uganda: Last-Minute Drama in Soweto

In one of the most exciting matches, South Africa narrowly avoided a shock home defeat, salvaging a 2-2 draw against Uganda. Lyle Foster gave Bafana Bafana an early lead in the 14th minute, setting the tone for what seemed to be a dominant performance by the home side. However, Uganda stunned the hosts with two quickfire goals early in the second half. Denis Omedi and Rogers Mato netted in the 51st and 53rd minutes, respectively, turning the game on its head.

South Africa pressed for an equalizer and were rewarded deep into stoppage time when Thalente Mbatha, making his debut, scored in the 95th minute to secure a draw. Despite the late goal, the result was a blow to South Africa, who were expected to win comfortably at Orlando Stadium.

Morocco and Egypt Dominate

North African giants Morocco and Egypt had no such troubles, securing comfortable victories in their opening matches. Morocco, hosting AFCON 2025, put on a show with a 4-1 win over Gabon in Agadir. Hakim Ziyech scored two penalties in the first half, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a spot-kick but later converted another. Second-half goals from Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi sealed the win for the Atlas Lions.

Meanwhile, Egypt cruised past Cape Verde with a 3-0 victory in Cairo. Goals from Rami Rabia, Omar Marmoush, and Ibrahim Adel secured the three points, giving the Pharaohs a strong start in their Group C campaign.

Ivory Coast Prevails, Senegal Held to a Draw

Reigning AFCON champions Ivory Coast faced a tough challenge from Zambia but emerged with a 2-0 victory in Bouaké. A second-half brace from Jean-Philippe Krasso was enough to give the Elephants a solid start to their qualification campaign.

In a surprising turn of events, Senegal was held to a 1-1 draw at home by Burkina Faso. Sadio Mané opened the scoring for the Teranga Lions, but a dramatic 95th-minute equalizer from Ousseni Bouda ensured that Burkina Faso took home a valuable point.