Egypt secured a narrow 1-0 advantage over Senegal in the first leg of their World Cup qualification play-off.
The first leg in Cairo was billed as a battle between Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
It was the former who had the big say in the match, as his shot led to the only goal of the game.
Egypt lit up the crowd inside four minutes, as Salah’s shot hit the bar and crashed into the unfortunate Saliou Ciss before dribbling over the line.
Mane was kept largely quiet, with his best chance a header that flashed wide, but the game did not get away from Senegal and they have hope heading into the second leg.
A crunching header from Islam Slimani on 39 minutes was enough to secure Algeria a 1-0 win at Cameroon.
Moussa Sissoko had a game to forget, as Tunisia beat Mali 1-0.
Sissoko scored a shocking own goal on 36 minutes, as he played the ball back blindly and it beat goalkeeper Ibrahim Mounkoro and went into his own net.
Things got worse for Sissoko on 40 minutes as he sloppily gifted possession and in attempting to make up for the error, tripped Saifeddine Jaziri and was shown a straight red card.
A goal 16 minutes from time from Tarik Tissoudali helped Morocco secure a 1-1 draw at DR Congo who had led thanks to a goal from Yoane Wissa.
It could have been better for Morocco, as Ryan Mmaee missed a penalty on 54 minutes.
Ghana and Nigeria played out a tense 0-0 draw
The return legs take place on March 29.
