The hosts Ivory Coast looked impressive on the opening day with a 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau, while Mali put in a thoroughly professional performance to beat Bafana Bafana 2-0.

Senegal were also very strong as they dismantled Gambia 3-0 - but outside of those results it has been chaos for the so-called favourites of the tournament.

Here, SABC Sport takes a look back at five of the most significant moments from the opening round of fixtures at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Namibia win first ever game at AFCON

Namibia are appearing in their fourth Africa Cup of Nations event and had failed to win a single game at any of their three previous attempts.

Watching their opening match against Tunisia without context, you would have been forgiven for thinking the Brave Warriors were veterans of the tournament rather than winless hopefuls as they matched the 2004 AFCON champions throughout the encounter.

Even though they surrendered 60% of the possession, they made good use of the ball they had by creating seven goal chances - six of which were on target - while Tunisia only forced three saves out of Lloyd Kazapua.

Ultimately, when Orlando Pirates midfielder Deon Hotto scored the winner in the 88th minute, it didn't feel like a bolt of lightning that could never strike again, it felt like just reward for a well-played game.

Egypt saved by last-minute penalty

Egypt looked to be on course to suffer a familiar fate to Tunisia in their opening game against Tunisia as they entered stoppage time at the end of the match trailing 2-1.

Mostafa Mohamed opened the scoring for the Pharaohs in just the second minute but Mozambique recovered well to get back into the match and eventually find an equaliser through Witi in the 55th minute. Taking advantage of their stunned opposition, the Mambas then took the lead just three minutes later through Clesio Bauque.

However, the officials added seven minutes of stoppage time on to the end of the game so all hope was not lost - and they were thrown the lifeline they so desperately needed when Domingos Macandza took a big old hack at the ball, missed and got hold of Mohamed instead - resulting in a clear penalty.

Mo Salah stepped and showed nerves of steel to convert from the spot to save Egypt's blushes - but only partially because a draw against Mozambique would hardly have been a part of their plan before AFCON began.

Cape Verde stun Ghana

While there is no doubt Cape Verde beating Ghana at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is a pretty noteworthy event all of its own, it was how the Blue Sharks went about their business that was truly stunning.

They must have been the only people in that stadium, and those watching on TV, that believed they were a match for Black Stars and not only did they believe it, they proved it as well.

With more than half of the possession and more chances produced than their more fancied opposition, there is no question Cape Verde deserved the result in the end.

The grit they showed to take the lead and the mental strength to find another goal after Ghana had pulled level showed they are certainly a team that should not be underestimated in this competition any longer.

Cameroon salvage draw against 10-man Guinea

The Indomitable Lions looked woefully out of sorts at the start of the game and gifted Guinea the lead in the 10th minute when the defence failed to adequately deal with the ball before it was stolen and laid off to Mohamed Bayo, who finished with ease.

Things got difficult for Guinea on the stroke of half-time when Francois Kamano was sent off for an ugly tackle and Cameroon began to dominate the flow of the game.

At the end of proceedings, the Indomitable Lions had 70% of the possession but failed to do much with it and only created five chances, two of which were on target.

Fortunately, one of those was a powerful header from Frank Magri to provide the equaliser in the 51st minute. However, as the favourites - with a man advantage for more than half of the game and 70% of the possession - they will be devastated to only come away from the game with a point.

Nigeria fail to beat Equatorial Guinea

As one of the big favourites to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, many expected Nigeria to kick their campaign off with a straightforward win against less-favoured Equatorial Guinea - but as has been the case throughout the tournament so far, things did not quite go to plan.

They certainly played like favourites, creating chance after chance but failing to convert - which was all the more strange considering their line was being led by one of the best strikers in the world in Victor Osimhen.

Even when things could have started to get a little panicky in the 37th minute when Iban Salvador scored with Equatorial Guinea's first shot on goal all game, they responded superbly with a flowing team move that resulted in Osimhen heading home the equaliser less than a minute after they went behind.

Unfortunately, they went back to wasting chances again straight afterwards and continued to do so until the end of the game, forcing Nigeria to face an uphill battle against tournament hosts Ivory Coast, who won their opening game and sit in pole position of Group A.

READ MORE: Emilio Nsue hat-trick hands Equatorial Guinea victory over Guinea-Bissau at AFCON

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