Co-host, Equatorial Guinea beat Libya 1-0 while Zambia stunned Senegal 2-1 to give excitement to the tournament predicted as uninteresting with the absence of heavy weights.

The 28^th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations got up to a good start on Saturday January 21 in Bata with two major surprises and a first controversy to arouse public interest in a tournament that was considered to be low keyed due to the absence of  heavy weights in African football like Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria.

Co-host, Equatorial Guinea set the ball rolling with a spirited fight against Libya that earned them a deserved victory. Benefitting from the talents of a contingent of foreign nationals, especially Cameroonian born Fidjeu and Narcisse Ekanga, the Nzalang Nacional achieved their dream of recording a first ever victory in the final round of the nation’s cup and won the one million dollar bet by the son of their president, as they won 1-0. The Nzalang Nacional would have won with a two-goal margin had their 16^th minute goal not been disallowed for a disputable off-side play, thereby provoking the first controversy in the tournament.

Zambia took after Equatorial, defying forecasts to beat favourites Senegal 2-1 in grand style. Two early goals in the first half were enough to enable the Zambians carry the day as Senegal took a long time to get into the game and when they did, they failed to concretise some excellent opportunities. The Senegalese defence, reputed to be strong and water-tight conceded only two goals in the qualifiers, surprisingly collapsed like a pack of cards, as the Zambians penetrated the porous defence almost at will.

However, the greatest winner of the day was Equatorial Guinea who won a double victory; that of organization and sports. The opening ceremony attended by three presidents; Obiang Nguema, Sasou Nguesou and Ali Bongo, was very spectacular and colourful. The world class choreography displayed the human and natural endowments of the country with features such as traditional dances, popular music, the equatorial rain forest and sea on display. The climax of the ceremony was the unveiling of the mascot of the tournament which is a gorilla. The ball is now in the court of co-host, Gabon to lift the double challenge set by Equatorial Guinea.