CAPE TOWN, March 28 : Morocco grabbed a late equaliser to draw 1-1 with Ecuador on Friday in their first match under coach Mohamed Ouahbi. Fellow North Africans Algeria and Egypt posted convincing wins while Ghana suffered a heavy loss.
Algeria hammered Guatemala 7-0 with Amine Gouiri scoring twice. Egypt defeated Saudi Arabia 4-0 without Mohamed Salah. Ghana was crushed 5-1 by Austria, raising concerns for their World Cup campaign.
South Africa drew 1-1 with Panama, and Cape Verde lost to Chile. Cameroon and Nigeria remain absent from the World Cup but are still used for preparation matches.