Cameroon kicked off their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a tough 1-0 victory over Gabon at a packed, noisy Agadir Stadium on Wednesday night.

It was an entertaining Central African match. The Indomitable Lions now share the Group F lead with defending champs Ivory Coast, both with three points.

Gabon's Panthers will have to rethink their approach and try to secure some points in their next games against Ivory Coast and Mozambique.

Things got interesting early when the ref, Amin Omar from Egypt, needed VAR to check if Karl Eyong was onside when he scored in the seventh minute.

Eyong broke through Gabon's offside trap early on, grabbing a pass from Man United's Bryan Mbeumo and slipping the ball between Loyce Mbaba's legs.

After waiting, Omar finally signalled that the goal was good, which made the Cameroon players and fans go wild.

Cameroon was controlling the ball early, and Gabon's coach, Cedric Moubamba, quickly subbed in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lamina for Alex Moussounda and Eric Bocoum.

With Aubameyang and Lamina in, Gabon calmed down and started challenging Cameroon, even getting a couple of chances before halftime.

Cameroon almost had another early in the second half, but Junior Tchamadeu missed badly after a pass from Mbeumo left him with only Mbaba to beat.

Mbeumo kept giving the Gabon defence headaches. Around the 55-minute mark, Mbaba had to punch away his shot.

Just minutes later, Gabon's Athanase Bounga messed up twice in a row, shooting way over the bar and then falling at the wrong moment, wasting another solid chance.

At this point, Gabon had the upper hand. Substitute Royce Owaga got a pass from Andre Poko, but his shot bounced off Cameroon keeper Devis Mboka.

There were a couple more opportunities near the end, but nothing too scary. Cameroon couldn't add to their lead, and Gabon couldn't tie the game.

Riyad Mahrez was on fire, scoring in both halves as Algeria, the 2019 champs, cruised to a 3-0 victory against Sudan, who were down to 10 men. That's how they kicked off their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign.

Just a minute into the game, Mahrez got things going, sending the Algerian fans (who pretty much filled the 16,115-seat stadium in Rabat) into a frenzy.

Mahrez, who used to play for Manchester City and now plays for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, scored again just after the hour mark. Then, Ibrahim Maza sealed the deal late in the game, giving Algeria a dream start in Group E.

Even Zinedine Zidane, the French legend whose parents are Algerian, was in the stands watching his son Luca play goalie for Algeria. When they showed him on the big screen, the Algerian fans went wild, stoked to see their team playing so well.

It's been a rough couple of AFCONs for Algeria—they got knocked out in the first round both times without winning a single game. But they wasted no time in this match.

Barely a minute had passed when Mohamed Amoura passed the ball across the box. Hicham Boudaoui back-heeled it to Mahrez, who nailed it in.

Zidane made a good save against Sudan's Yaser Awad Boshara, but Algeria was in control the whole time.

Sudan's chances took a hit when Salaheldin Adil got a red card for a second booking. He chopped down Rayan Ait-Nouri just before halftime.

Ramy Bensebaini had a goal called back for offside, but Mahrez made it 2-0 in the 61st minute, thanks to a killer assist from Amoura.

Mahrez, who's playing in his sixth AFCON, now has eight goals in the tournament. The Algerian fans gave him a standing ovation when he was subbed out late in the game.

Maza, who came off the bench from Bayer Leverkusen, scored Algeria's 100th AFCON goal with five minutes left, making it 3-0 after a header from Baghdad Bounedjah.

Sudan hasn't had much luck in the Cup of Nations since they won it in 1970—just one win in their last 17 matches.

Burkina Faso's AFCON Comeback Against Equatorial Guinea

In the earlier Group E game, Burkina Faso pulled off a late 2-1 win against Equatorial Guinea, who were playing with 10 men.

Equatorial Guinea took a surprise lead in the 85th minute.

But Burkina Faso came back strong. Georgi Minoungou scored in stoppage time to tie the game, and then Edmond Tapsoba scored the winner right at the end.

Burkina Faso was the stronger team, but their Premier League attackers. Equatorial Guinea went down to 10 men when Basilio Ndiong got a red card for a bad tackle on Traore.

Burkina Faso had plenty of chances. Lassina Traore, who was back, scored. It got disallowed for offside.

Equatorial Guinea threatened another upset when Anieboh scored.

Equatorial Guinea made a name for themselves at the last AFCON, upsetting the hosts and topping their group.

They slowed down the game, but with eight minutes of added time, Burkina Faso still had a shot. Bayer Leverkusen's Tapsoba was key in turning things around. After Burkina Faso was fouled, the ball went to Minoungou, who scored.

Then, Cyriaque Irie crossed the ball. It bounced off the goalie and onto Tapsoba's head, who scored the winning goal.

shot.