Ivory Coast Beat Ghana As Cameroon, DR Congo Start With Wins

Ivory Coast start strongly against Ghana

Ivory Coast beat Ghana 2-0 in Bouaké to make a winning start in Group C.

Malick Yalcouyé put the hosts in front in the 44th minute, on his international debut. Franck Kessié doubled the advantage from the penalty spot in the 58th minute, leaving Ghana without a response in the second half.

The result gives Ivory Coast an early lead in the group, while Ghana will look to recover in their next qualifier.

Cameroon and DR Congo collect three points

Cameroon opened their Group G campaign with a 3-1 victory over Comoros.

David Nyengue scored in the 39th minute before Bryan Mbeumo doubled Cameroon's lead in the 48th, shortly after the restart. Comoros pulled one back through Warmed Omari in the 51st minute, but Danny Namaso scored in the 81st to confirm the win.

DR Congo won 2-0 over Equatorial Guinea in Kinshasa. Chancel Mbemba opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and Yoane Wissa secured the result with a 72nd-minute goal.

Zimbabwe complete comeback in Sierra Leone

Zimbabwe recovered from 2-0 down to beat Sierra Leone 3-2.

Alie Conteh and Sallieu Tarawallie scored in the opening 27 minutes to give Sierra Leone a strong start. Marshall Munetsi then scored twice, in the 72nd and 88th minutes, with Tawanda Chirewa also finding the net in the 76th as Zimbabwe completed an impressive turnaround.

Late drama in Libya

Libya and Botswana drew 2-2 in a dramatic Group H encounter.

Tumisang Orebonye scored twice in the first half for Botswana. Libya responded late through M. Al Hbeishi in the 87th minute and E. Al Mariami's penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Mauritania, Namibia and Tunisia also pick up points

Mauritania beat Central African Republic 3-1. Aboubakar Koita scored a first-half penalty before D. Camara and M. Diallo added late goals; G. Koyalipou had levelled shortly after half-time.

Namibia earned a 1-0 win over Congo, with Bethuel Muzeu scoring the only goal in the 47th minute.

Tunisia and Uganda shared a 1-1 draw. A. Arous gave Tunisia an early lead, but R. Mato equalised for Uganda in the 68th minute.

Results

Ivory Coast 2-0 Ghana Cameroon 3-1 Comoros DR Congo 2-0 Equatorial Guinea Sierra Leone 2-3 Zimbabwe Mauritania 3-1 Central African Republic Namibia 1-0 Congo Libya 2-2 Botswana Tunisia 1-1 Uganda