AFCON 2025: Jackson and Skhiri on target in Senegal and Tunisia's opening wins | OneFootball

Nicolas Jackson and Ellyes Skhiri scored in the first round of the African Cup of Nations to help their respective nations to winning starts. As ever, the Bundesliga is well represented in the 35th edition of the competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The Bayern Munich striker scored either side of half-time in Senegal’s emphatic win over Botswana. The Chelsea loanee even had multiple chances to complete his hat-trick before he left his place for Cherif Ndiaye, who went on to score the third for Senegal.

The 2021 champions are top of their group as DR Congo secured a narrow win against Benin in the earlier fixture. Samuel Essende was an unused substitute for DR Congo, while his ex-Augsburg teammate Steve Mounié was unavailable for Benin due to suspension.

In the closing fixture on Tuesday, Skhiri opened the floodgates for Tunisia in a 3-1 win over Uganda. The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder headed home from a corner-kick in the 10th minute. Elias Saad was also in Tunisia’s starting lineup, while fellow Augsburg midfielder Ismaël Gharbi replaced two-goal hero Elias Achouri with ten minutes left to play.

Three-time winners Nigeria beat Tanzania 2-1 in the other game of the group. Ademola Lookman, who was linked with Bayern in the closing days of the summer transfer window, netted the winner for Nigeria.

Contrasting fortunes for ex-Bundesliga stars

The continental tournament kicked off on Sunday with hosts Morocco’s 2-0 win over Comoros. Stuttgart’s in-form winger Bilal El Khannouss came off the bench, while Bayer Leverkusen’s Eliesse Ben Seghir was an unused substitute.

Bayern’s former defender Noussair Mazraoui assisted the opening goal of the tournament for Brahim Díaz before Ayoub El Kaabi sealed the win with an early contender for “Goal of the Tournament”.

Mali and Zambia drew 1-1 in the other game of the group. Ex-Stuttgart striker El Bilal Touré missed a penalty-kick in the first-half for Mali. Malian midfielder Amadou Haidara, who will join RC Lens from RB Leipzig after the tournament, entered the pitch for the last five minutes, while Magdeburg’s Lubambo Musonda played the entire 90 minutes for Zambia.

On Monday, former Wolfsburg and Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush opened the scoring in Egypt’s 2-1 win over Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s midfielder Jonah Fabisch, who is plying his trade in 3. Liga club Erzgebirge Aue, played the entire game. In the other Group B fixture, South Africa saw off Angola by the same scoreline.

The first round of the group stage games will be concluded with four games tomorrow. Cameroon, Algeria, and the Ivory Coast – who were the champions in three of the last four editions – will start their campaigns on the fourth day of Morocco's festival.