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Date: September 29, 2026
Reporter: Emilly Jordan
Algeria were forced to come from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against Burundi on Tuesday as several of Africa's leading football nations recorded victories in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.
The result in Bujumbura prevented Algeria from suffering a surprise defeat against Burundi in Group I, but it was an unconvincing performance for the Algerian side under new coach Brahim Hemdani.
Burundi made a fast start, taking a 2-0 lead within the opening 12 minutes. Algeria then responded through Mohamed Belloumi and Adil Boulbina, who scored to bring the North Africans level and secure a point.
The comeback allowed Algeria to avoid what would have been a significant setback against a Burundi side ranked 116 places below them in the FIFA rankings, according to Reuters.
Elsewhere, Egypt produced one of the day's biggest wins, defeating South Sudan 5-0 in Juba in Group B. Egypt travelled without captain Mohamed Salah, who was left out because of concerns about a possible injury on the artificial playing surface.
Omar Marmoush scored twice, while Mostafa Zico, Ibrahim Adel and teenage forward Hamza Abdelkarim also found the net as Egypt secured a comprehensive victory.
Morocco also maintained their strong start to qualifying with a 2-0 victory over Lesotho. The match was played in Bloemfontein, South Africa, because Lesotho does not currently have a stadium meeting international standards.
Brahim Diaz opened the scoring for Morocco just before halftime after taking advantage of defensive uncertainty. Azzedine Ounahi then added a second goal eight minutes from the end to complete the victory and leave Morocco at the top of Group A.
Senegal, meanwhile, secured their first win under new coach Patrick Vieira by beating Ethiopia 1-0. Ibrahim Mbaye scored after 11 minutes following a pass from his Aston Villa teammate Nicolas Jackson.
Vieira had begun his tenure with a 1-1 draw away to Mozambique last week, making Tuesday's result his first competitive victory in charge of the Senegalese national team.
Mozambique moved to the top of Group J on goal difference after a 4-1 victory over Sudan in Maputo. Chamito scored twice for the hosts in a convincing home performance.
Comoros also recorded a 1-0 home victory over Namibia, with Benjaloud Youssef scoring early in the second half.
Tuesday's matches were part of a busy qualifying schedule involving 17 games as teams across the continent continued their campaigns for places at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
The tournament will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The qualification format provides for the top two teams in each of the 12 groups to reach the finals, except in groups containing one of the host nations, where only one additional team qualifies.
The day's results produced contrasting fortunes among the continent's established football powers. Egypt, Morocco and Senegal secured important victories, while Algeria were forced to recover from an early deficit to take a point.
Further matches on Tuesday included Ghana hosting Zambia, while Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria were scheduled to play away from home.
With the qualifying campaign still in its early stages, the results have left the leading contenders with different challenges ahead. Algeria will need to improve after surrendering two early goals against Burundi, while Egypt, Morocco and Senegal will take confidence from victories that strengthened their respective campaigns.
The qualification race will continue as African nations compete for places at the 2027 tournament, with the remaining fixtures set to determine which teams will join the three co-hosts at the finals.