South Africa's Bafana Bafana got their Africa Cup of Nations campaign off to a fine start with a 2-1 win over Angola, as Burnley striker Lyle Foster scored the winning goal on 79 minutes.
The opening Group B match had three distinct phases. South Africa started impressively and Oswin Appollis scored on 21 minutes before a small crowd in the near-42,000-seat stadium.
Angola controlled the rest of the opening half and Show levelled. South Africa then recovered to be the stronger side in the second half and Foster struck to secure maximum points.
South Africa attacked frequently in the early stages, but their goalkeeper Ronwen Williams had to react quickly on 15 minutes to push away a shot from fellow captain Fredy Ribeiro.
Appollis gave Bafana Bafana the lead six minutes later, winning possession off a Khuliso Mudau cross and beating 39-year-old goalkeeper Hugo Marques with a low shot into the corner.
Williams came to the rescue again as the match reached the half-hour mark, making a brilliant point-blank save from a Gelson Dala header.
Angola were getting on top and it came as no surprise when Show -- one of many Angolan footballers who use a nickname -- equalised after 35 minutes.
Siyabonga Ngezana was lucky to escape being yellow-carded after fouling Dala, but the indiscipline was to prove costly on a cold evening in central Morocco.
The resultant free-kick was driven low into the South African goalmouth and Show connected with the ball to steer it into the corner.
Tempers flared as the half progressed and the Sudanese referee cautioned To Carneiro of Angola, then South Africans Aubrey Modiba and Sphephelo Sithole.
As the teams exited the pitch at half-time, Frenchman Patrice Beaumelle would have been the happier coach with Angola unlucky not to be ahead.
South Africa thought they had regained the lead six minutes into the second half when substitute Tshepang Moremi, on for the ineffective Mohau Nkota, fired a low shot wide of Marques and into the net.
But Bafana celebrations were cut short when a VAR review showed that Foster -- the sole South African from the top five European leagues in the squad -- was marginally offside.
South Africa were pressing for a second goal and centre-back Mbekezeli Mbokazi temporarily abandoned his defensive duties to beat Marques with a long-range drive only to see it rebound off the crossbar.
On the back foot for much of the opening half, South Africa were now the aggressors, constantly pushing forward in search of the lead.
A swift Bafana counterattack saw Moremi outpace a defender, then push the ball back into the path of Foster, who squandered a good chance by firing over.
But Foster atoned with 11 minutes of regular time left through a shot from the edge of the box that gave Marques no chance, and put South Africa back in front.
Despite a late Angola fightback, Bafana Bafana hung on to win their first opening AFCON game in 21 years.
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations sees 24 nations vie for Afcon glory over the coming weeks, as Morocco plays host for the second time.
The 24 teams have been split into six groups of four, with the winners and runners-up progressing to the knockout phase, along with the best four third-placed nations.
Morocco stepped up to host after Guinea was stripped of staging rights over concerns about infrastructure and facilities in the country.
The host cities are the capital Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech, Fes and Tangier, with the tournament playing out in nine different stadiums.
Afcon 2025 groups
Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique.
The hosts, Morocco, kicked off the tournament on Sunday with a win, beating Comoros 2 - 0. On Monday, Mali and Zambia settled for a 1-1 draw before South Africa edged Angola 2 - 1. Egypt is facing Zimbabwe. At the time of this publication - half time - Zimbabwe is leading 1 - 0.
