AFCON 2025: Tunisia Break Opening-Day Curse as Senegal Nigeria and DR Congo Impress

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Tunisia ended a 12-year AFCON opening-day hoodoo on Tuesday night, cruising to a 3-1 victory over Uganda in Rabat thanks to a brace from Elias Achouri. The Carthage Eagles, led early by Ellyes Skhiri’s 10th-minute opener, doubled their lead before halftime through Achouri, who later added his second shortly after the hour mark. Uganda’s Denis Omedi scored deep into stoppage time, but the result was already beyond doubt, propelling Tunisia to the top of Group C on goal difference ahead of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, in Fès, Nigeria battled hard before overcoming Tanzania 2-1 in a thrilling Group C encounter. Semi Ajayi’s towering header from an Alex Iwobi corner broke the deadlock in the 36th minute. Tanzania equalised shortly after the restart through Charles M’Mombwa, only for Ademola Lookman to restore Nigeria’s lead with a thunderous finish just 108 seconds later. Despite late pressure from Tanzania, key interventions from Calvin Bassey and a missed chance by Ibrahim Hamad ensured Nigeria held on, setting up an exciting clash with Tunisia in their next outing.

Group D saw Senegal assert dominance with a convincing 3-0 win over Botswana at the Grand Stade de Tanger. Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring in the 40th minute, doubled the lead just before the hour, and looked set to complete a hat-trick before Cherif Ndiaye added a late third. Botswana’s goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko made several crucial saves to prevent a more lopsided scoreline.

In another Group D fixture, DR Congo edged Benin 1-0 thanks to Théo Bongonda’s first-half strike, capitalising on defensive hesitation. Cedric Bakambu had a second goal disallowed for offside, and Benin created late opportunities but could not find an equaliser, extending DR Congo’s winning streak abroad to six consecutive matches.

The tournament continues on Wednesday with four more fixtures: Burkina Faso face Equatorial Guinea at 1:30 p.m., Algeria meet Sudan at 4 p.m., Ivory Coast take on Mozambique at 6:30 p.m., and Cameroon clash with Gabon at 9 p.m. as the AFCON 2025 group-stage drama intensifies.

AFCON Fixtures Scheduled For Wednesday, December 24