Egypt needed a late Mostafa Mohamed goal to beat Guinea 1-0 as the the two sides began their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns.
Earlier on Sunday both Ghana and Tunisia had to settle for draws away from home in their second games of the qualifiers for 2023 finals.
Tunisia were held goalless in Botswana while Ghana drew 1-1 against Central African Republic, in a match played in Angola due to a lack of suitable stadiums in CAR.
Elsewhere on Sunday Malawi managed to hold on for a 2-1 win over visiting Ethiopia while Madagascar and Angola ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
Egypt dominated the first half of the Group D encounter in terms of possession but could not find a way past Ibrahim Kone in the Guinea goal.
The Malta-based keeper made saves from a Mahmoud Hamdi El Wensh header and then tipped over a free kick from Stuttgart’s Omar Marmoush.
After the break Kone saved another free kick from Mohamed Salah and then saw his defence scramble the ball away.
Guinea’s Thierno Barry and Amadou Diawara of Roma will feel they should have done better with shots from the edge of the area that they put wide of the target.
The Pharaohs, playing in front of just a few thousand fans in the Cairo International Stadium, thought they had taken the lead on the hour mark but it was ruled out for offside.
With both sides struggling to make a real impact the only goal of the game came from substitute Mohamed in the 86th minute, the Galatasaray forward’s shot deflected off debutant Mouctar Diakhaby’s leg past Kone.
In Sunday’s other opening Group D game Malawi began with a 2-1 win over Ethiopia in Lilongwe.
Malawi led 2-0 at half-time thanks to two penalties from striker Gabadinho Mhango, Ethiopia’s goal also came from a spot-kick which was converted by Abubeker Nasir.
Ghana and Tunisia held
Ghana, who beat Madagascar 3-0 in their first Group E game, took the lead over CAR in the 17th minute through Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus.
But CAR fought back just before the break as Karl Namnganda, who plays in the fourth tier of French football, scored an equaliser.
It means Ghana have won just one game in their eight matches so far this year.
In Antananarivo it was Njiva Rakotoharimalala who gave Madagascar the lead after 36 minutes with Qatar-based Gelson Dala levelling things up before the break for Angola.
The results mean that Ghana and Angola both have four points in Group E while CAR and Madagascar have a point each, with all four sides now having played twice.
Tunisia had also won their opening Group J game with a comfortable 4-0 win over Equatorial Guinea but they could not find a way past hosts Botswana in Francistown.
The goalless draw gives the Zebras their first point of the qualifying campaign after a 1-0 loss in Libya and means Tunisia have four points.
The second round of Group J matches will be completed on Monday as Equatorial Guinea host Libya in Malabo.
Upcoming Group D and J qualifiers
Monday, 6 June
- Equatorial Guinea v Libya (Malabo, 19:00) – Group J
Thursday, 9 June
- Ethiopia v Egypt (Lilongwe, 16:00) – Group D
- Guinea v Malawi (Conakry, 19:00) – Group D
All kick-off times in GMT.
