AFCON Day 4: Cameroon earn derby win over Gabon; victories for Algeria, Ivory Coast

Cameroon put their chaotic tournament build-up behind them to beat tournament dark horses Gabon 1-0 in Agadir following Karl Etta Eyong's early goal, while Algeria, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso also kicked off their Africa Cup of Nations with victories in Wednesday's group fixtures.

He subsequently appointed local coach David Pagou to take the reins of the national side, but while the 56-year-old unveiled his squad for the tournament -- surprisingly omitting prominent players like Andre Onana, Vincent Aboubakar and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting -- Brys, who claimed not to have been formally notified of his dismissal, also announced his own AFCON squad.

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FECAFOOT (Cameroonian Football Federation), speaking to ESPN, eventually cleared up any uncertainty, but against this backdrop, coupled with the injury to Frank Zambo Anguissa, as well as the World Cup playoff elimination by the Democratic Republic of Congo last month, Cameroon arrived at the tournament after a thoroughly troubled month.

However, they answered their many detractors in the best way possible on Wednesday, dispatching neighbours and fierce rivals Gabon 1-0. Etta Eyong opened the scoring after six minutes after being played in by Bryan Mbeumo, who reacted quickest to a mixup in the Panthers backline.

Etta Eyong, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal, is one of the new faces in this young and unfamiliar Cameroon team being sent to the Nations Cup by Pagou, and based on this evidence, the 22-year-old could help the Lions forget some of the big names left at home.

It was the striker's first goal for the national side, and Eto'o will be hoping that the star turn of one of the new arrivals can help turn the page after the miserable Brys era.

Also in Group F, defending champions Ivory Coast began their campaign with a controlled 1-0 victory over Mozambique in Marrakesh, with Amad Diallo scoring the only goal of the game.

Diallo broke the deadlock in the 49th minute when he met Frank Kessie's knockdown to fire low beyond Ernan Siluane in the Mozambique goal.

"I'm very proud of myself," Diallo told journalists after the match. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. Honestly, I thought we deserved to win by a bigger margin, but we take this success."

Kessie could have opened the scoring in the first half himself, but had his header saved by Siluane, while Mozambique offered precious little in the way of a cohesive attacking threat of their own.

"We faced a good team and managed to keep a clean sheet," AFCON-winning head coach Emerse Fae said after the match. "Once again, we saw the solidarity that has been with us for several months, as well as the players' effort and mindset."

The Elephants next meet Cameroon in a heavyweight showdown in Marrakesh on December 28 as both look to confirm their place in the knockouts, while Gabon and Mozambique will look to get their first points on the board when they meet in Agadir on the same day.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Group E teams had got their campaigns underway, with Algeria -- arguably the most impressive of all teams so far -- seeing off ten-men Sudan 3-0 with Riyad Mahrez in scintillating form.

With the Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat packed with fervent Algeria fans, the Fennecs relished the home atmosphere in the cosy stadium, with Mahrez putting them ahead after two minutes after being picked out by the lively Hicham Boudaoui.

Sudan threw everything in an attempt to keep within touching distance of the 2019 champions, even after Salah Adil was dismissed for a second yellow card for an aggressive challenge on the excellent Mohamed Amoura after 39 minutes.

Down to ten men, the Falcons of Jeddiane wilted as Algeria began truly enjoying themselves; Mahrez added a second just after the hour mark following Amoura's assist, before wonderkid Ibrahim Maza came off the bench to add a third in the 85th minute, with Sudan increasingly just holding on to keep the scoreline respectable.

Algeria's defensive resiliency, attacking options, strength in depth and home support certainly made them look every bit genuine title contenders as they picked up their first AFCON victory since defeating Senegal in the 2019 final.

"We were up against a stronger side," Sudan's Kwesi Appiah acknowledge after the match. "This Algerian team has serious quality in every aspect. We will do everything to bounce back in the next game."

Next up for Sudan will be Equatorial Guinea in Casablanca on December 28, where the Nzalang Nacional will also be looking to get their first points on the board after being stunned 2-1 by Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

The Equatoguineans thought they'd won it when Marvin Anieboh headed home five minutes from time, despite having had Basilio Ndong sent off for a violent challenge on Bertrand Traore in the 50th minute after the referee, following consultation with VAR, upgraded his yellow card to the first red of the tournament.

However, Burkina Faso, who have reached the semifinals in three of the last five editions of the AFCON, turned the tables completely in stoppage time, with Georgie Minoungou and then Edmond Tapsoba scoring in the 95th and 98th minutes respectively.

"There was a lack of concentration on our part, and in less than five minutes we lost the match," Equatorial Guinea head coach Juan Micha acknowledged at full-time. "We couldn't control everything, and we will try to reorganise ourselves and see how we can improve our shortcomings in the next matches."

Burkina Faso meet Algeria in Rabat on December 28 in a rematch of the group-stage match between the two at last year's tournament, where the points were shared in a 2-2 draw in Bouake.