LOWLY Equatorial Guinea stunned Libya and Zambia upset Senegal as the tournament began with surprises as well as tear gas outside the stadium in Bata on Saturday.

Co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, whose starting line-up consisted entirely of players born abroad, beat Libya 1-0 thanks to a late strike by former Real Madrid player Javier Balboa in the first-half of a double bill. Zambia then scored twice in the first quarter of their game on their way to a 2-1 win over Senegal, back in the tournament after astonishingly missing out in 2010.

The tournament is already without defending champions Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa, who all failed to qualify.

Off the field, it was a less happy day for Equatorial Guinea, sharing the tournament with Gabon, as police used tear gas against fans trying to get into the ground. There were no reports of injuries.

There was further embarrassment when most of the crowd left after Equatorial Guineas match, leaving Zambia and Senegal to play in a half-empty stadium.

The Ivory Coast got their campaign off to a 1-0 winning start against a very stubborn Sudan yesterday. Captain Didier Drogba headed powerfully home from Salomon Kalou’s cross but it was not a convincing display from one of the pre-tournament favourites.