A 10-man Sudan team suffered a 3-0 defeat to Algeria in their opening Group E TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 on Wednesday.

Former Manchester City forward, now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia Riyad Mahrez gave Algeria the lead after only two minutes at the Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat.

The Sudan team tried to reorganize themselves, but got into trouble when Salahedin Adil was sent off after picking a second card in the 39^th minutes.

In the second half Mahrez made it 2-0 after 61 minutes when he curled in a cross from Hicham Boudaoui. The Sudan team tried to defend in numbers, but were less effective going forward.

With five minutes to the end of the match, Ibrahim Maza scored Algeria’s third goal off a Baghdad Bounedjah’s header.

James Kwesi Appiah, the Sudan coach said his team did not play well and added that the red card in the first half placed them in a disadvantaged spot. “We now need to go back and prepare for the match against Equatorial Guinea to be played on December 28^th,” added Appiah.

The 2019 champions go top of Group E, while Burkina Faso who defeated Equatorial Guinea 2-1 in another match played are second on the log.

All team from the CECAFA Zone Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan have lost their opening matches. Tanzania suffered a 2-1 defeat to Nigeria, while Uganda fell 3-1 to Tunisia in Group C matches, and now Sudan going down 3-0.

Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Tanzania and Uganda made false starts on Tuesday at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 in Morocco.

The Taifa Stars skippered by Mbwana Samatta took to the field first losing 2-1 to Nigeria in a Group C match played at the Fez Stadium.

Semi Ajayi gave the Super Eagles the lead after 36 minutes finishing off a well taken Alex Iwobi cross.

But the Tanzanian side did not give up and continued to battle on creating their own chances. Akor Adams hit the woodwork for Nigeria and Victor Osimhen effort was also ruled for offside.

After recess Tanzania leveled matters with Charles M’mombwa scoring after 50 minutes off a Novatus Miroshi’s pass. But Ademola Lookman was quick to restore Nigeria’s lead again two minutes later.

Tanzania continued to push forward, but will also have to thank goalkeeper Zuberi Foba who made numerous saves.

“We put up a good show, but failed to concentrate after making it 1-1 and immediately conceded a goal. Now we need to focus on our next match against Uganda,” said Tanzania’s captain Samatta.

In the second Group C match Tunisia defeated Uganda 3-1 in a match played at the Rabat Olympic Stadium.

Elias Achouri netted a brace, while Ellyes Skhiri had given the Carthage Eagles the lead earlier.

After an early lead, Tunisia dictated the tempo of the match on a wet pitch after a heavy down pour. But the Uganda Cranes defended in numbers before Tunisia made it 2-0 before the break.

Achouri scored again after 64 minutes to make it 3-0 for Tunisia, but substitute Denis Omedi pulled one goal back for Uganda as the ball deflected off a defender.

“We made a poor start to the game, but looked better in the second half. We need to keep working hard because we now need to get a good result in our next match against Tanzania,” said Uganda Cranes coach Paul Put.

The win sends Tunisia top of Group C, while Nigeria are second, Tanzania third and Uganda bottom. Uganda will return to action against Tanzania on December 27^th, the same day Tunisia will battle Nigeria.

Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Uganda and Tanzania will kick start their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 campaigns on Tuesday in Morocco.

Taifa Stars of Tanzania will take to the field first against the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Fez Stadium, while Uganda battle Tunisia in the second Group C match at the Rabat Olympic Stadium.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Miguel Gamondi, the Tanzania coach says his team is well prepared for their first match of the competition. “We must be very careful and well structured because we are playing against a team that has quality,” added Gamondi.

He however made it clear that Taifa Stars are in Morocco to compete and not just to participate. “When you play a team like Nigeria, there is no room for mistakes,” he cautioned.

Team captain Mbwana Samatta also made it clear that the spirit and morale among the players is very high.

Nigeria’s coach Eric Chelle says the match against Tanzania is very important because it’s their opening match and they must work hard and win.

Later in the evening Uganda Cranes will also hope to make a winning start against Tunisia which has been one of their bogey sides on the continent.

Khalid Aucho, Uganda’s experienced captain made it clear that the players are in good shape and ready to take on any team in the tournament.

The Uganda Cranes coach, Paul Put who has coached on the African continent for over 15 years says his players have the opportunity to show themselves to the world when they kick start the campaign against Tunisia. “The players are very motivated and ready to go,” added Put.

Former Tunisian International, and now the head coach Sami Trabelsi says they must be very cautious against Uganda.

On Wednesday Sudan will also be in action against 2019 champions Algeria in a Group E match. The two teams faced of over a week ago in the FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar that ended goalless.

The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 finally kicked off on Sunday in Morocco.

Three teams Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania will be carrying the flag for the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA).

Football lovers in the Zone will be hoping that any of the three teams can win a third AFCON trophy. Ony Sudan and Ethiopia are the two teams to ever win an AFCON trophy among teams from the CECAFA Zone.

Ethiopia lifted the AFCON title in 1962, while Sudan emerged champions in 1970. The other six countries that have won the  AFCON trophy once include; Congo Brazzaville (1972), Morocco (1976), South Africa (1996), Tunisia (2004), Zambia (2012), and Senegal (2022).

The other teams that have come close from the CECAFA Zone have been Ethiopia who came second to Egypt in 1957, Sudan who finished second to in 1959 and 1963, and Uganda who were runners-up in 1978.

Egypt have been the most successful team winning record seven out of 34 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) titles.

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have lifted the AFCON title five times, while the Black Stars of Ghana have emerged champions four times. Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire have each lifted the title three times, while the Desert Fennecs of Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) have each won twice.