DR Congo and Ivory Coast top Africa Cup of Nations qualifying opening wins

DR Congo beat Equatorial Guinea, while Ivory Coast cruise by Ghana and Cameroon beat Comoros as AFCON qualifiers begin.Published On 24 Sep 202624 Sep 2026The Democratic Republic of the Congo followed up their World Cup exploits ⁠with a 2-0 ⁠home win over Equatorial Guinea on the opening day of the group qualifiers for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.Captain Chancel ⁠Mbemba headed home the opening goal in the fourth minute, and Yoane Wissa added a second 18 minutes from time in Kinshasa on Thursday, although ⁠the scoreline might have been more emphatic after they twice struck the woodwork and also had two efforts ruled offside.It was the first game for the Congolese after advancing through the first phase of the World Cup for the first time ‌and running England close in their last-32 tie in Atlanta in July.However, there was no opportunity for home supporters to celebrate their achievement as the size of the crowd at the Stade des Martyrs was restricted to 20,000 after sanctions for fan violence that followed defeat by Senegal in World Cup qualification one year ago.Mauritania and Namibia were also winners ⁠in Thursday’s early games, while Libya netted a last-gasp penalty ⁠to salv...