Elephants rumble as Zambia stumble

The Central African Republic secured their first-ever FIFA World Cup™ qualifying victory as they beat Botswana 2-0, while reigning African champions Zambia slumped to a 2-0 defeat in Sudan. Gambia held Morocco to a prestigious 1-1 draw, while 2010 FIFA finalists Côte d'Ivoire and Algeria beat Tanzania and Rwanda respectively. Also getting their campaign off to a winning start were Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Cameroon and Senegal, while Burkina Faso drew with Congo, and Kenya were held to a goalless draw by Malawi. FIFA.com rounds up all the news from Saturday's 11 matches in the African Zone.

Match of the day
Côte d'Ivoire 2-0 Tanzania
Goals: Salomon Kalou 18, Didier Drogba 85
New Côte d'Ivoire coach Sabri Lamouchi had two UEFA Champions League winners in his side and both Kalou and captain Drogba got on the scorer's sheet as the Elephants proved too strong for the Taifa Stars. Kalou, who like Drogba, will not be playing for their Premier League side Chelsea next season, opened the scoring early on. Drogba then had a chance to double his side's advantage, but smashed his free-kick against the crossbar. Tanzania were down to ten men from the 70th minute after Morris Aggrey received a second booking and Drogba made the most of the numerical advantage with a second goal for the home side five minutes from time.

Elsewhere
The match in Dakar between Senegal and Liberia started with a minute of silence for former Senegal star Jules Bocande, who died in a French hospital last month. Liberia then took the lead in the second minute through Francis Doe. Senegalese captain Papiss Demba Cisse had a golden opportunity to equalise, but missed his penalty. The home side managed to settle and turn things around, going on to win 3-1. Another team to come from behind was Tunisia, who beat Equatorial Guinea 3-1 through three second-half goals.

In Yaounde, Germany-based Eric Maxim Choupo-Motin's second-half goal gave the Indomitable Lions a hard-fought 1-0 victory against the Congo DR, prompting Cameroon coach Denis Lavagne to admit there was still much work to be done. "We need to press from the beginning to the end,” he said. South Africa 2010 finalists Algeria proved too strong for Rwanda, who were still reeling from the shock of losing midfielder Patrick Mafisango in a car crash last month. The Desert Foxes won easily 4-0, with El Arabi Soudani scoring a brace.

African champions Zambia, who are still looking for a first-ever appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals, were knocked off 2-0 in Sudan, who got goals from Mohamed Tahir and Saif Masawi in the second half. The matches between Gambia and Morocco (1-1), Burkina Faso and Congo (0-0), as well as Kenya and Malawi (0-0) ended in draws – with all six sides looking for full points in next weekend's second round of group play.

Player of the day
Foxi Kethevoama (Central African Republic)
Going into Saturday's match against Botswana, the Central African Republic had never won a FIFA World Cup qualifying match. However, that history was to change as goals on both sides of the break from Foxi Kethevoama gave Les Fauves a famous victory. The 26-year-old striker, who plays for Kazakhstan club FC Astana on loan from Hungarian team Kecskemeti TE, last year helped his club to their first Hungarian Cup victory as he scored a hat-trick in a 3-2 win against Videoton.

The stat
3 - The number of goals both Senegal and Tunisia scored at home after allowing their opponents to open the scoring. 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-finalists Senegal came from behind to beat Liberia, while the four-time FIFA World Cup finalists from North Africa scored three times in the second half after going behind to Equatorial Guinea.

What they said
"It was very important to get our campaign off to a winning start and that will make us confident for our next match in Equatorial Guinea. I am pleased that I was able to help my side by scoring and now we are looking forward to the next game," said Sierra Leone striker Sheriff Suma, who scored one of the goals in his side's 2-1 victory against Cape Verde.

Results and Fixtures
Friday 1 June
Egypt 2-0 Mocambique
Ghana 7-0 Lesotho

Saturday 2 June
Central African Republic 2-0 Botswana
Sierra Leone 2-1 Cape Verde
Tunisia 3-1 Equatorial Guinea
Gambia 1-1 Morocco
Côte d'Ivoire 2-0 Tanzania
Sudan 2-0 Zambia
Burkina Faso 0-0 Congo
Kenya 0-0 Malawi
Algeria 4 - 0 Rwanda
Cameroon 1-0 DR Congo
Senegal 3-1 Liberia

Sunday 3 June
South Africa - Ethiopia
Niger - Gabon
Nigeria - Namibia
Zimbabwe - Guinea
Benin - Mali
Togo - Libya
Angola - Uganda