Gabon 2-3 Mozambique Highlights, AFCON 2025: Mambas Claim Historic Victory, Keep Knockout Hopes Alive

Good evening, football fans! We are ready with the live blog covering the first AFCON match on offer today, with the two winless sides in Group F going up against each other. Stay tuned for pre-match updates and line-ups as they are released.

• Fixture: Gabon vs Mozambique, Group F Matchday 2

• Series: Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025

• Venue: Stade Adrar, Agadir

• Date: Sunday, December 28, 2025

• Time: 6:00 PM IST

• Live Streaming: FanCode

Victor Osimhen scored a rare Africa Cup of Nations goal and Nigeria booked their place in the knockout stage with an ultimately nervy 3-2 win over Tunisia on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Uganda and Tanzania – two of the three co-hosts of the next tournament with Kenya – drew 1-1 in a frenetic early Group C game, a result that did little for either after opening losses.

And the 17-year-old French-born Ibrahim Mbaye rejuvenated his team and provided the impetus for Sadio Mane to score in a 1-1 draw with Congo.

With Ivory Coast and Cameroon registering victories over Mozambique and Gabon, respectively in their campaign openers, the two teams are in the lead in Group F with three points apiece. The winner of today's clash between Mozambique and Gabon, thus will stay alive, while the other side will be eliminated from the competition.

Equatorial Guinea meet Sudan in another battle of the laggards, in Group E at 8:30pm IST. The group's top two sides Algeria and Burkina Faso then face off at 11pm, before Group F leaders Ivory Coast and Cameroon lock horns at 1:30am.

Check out the line-ups for Mozambique and Gabon:

Play gets underway at the Stade Adrar. Gabon kicking from left to right and Mozambique the other way in the first half. The Panthers make an early attempt on goal, eliciting a diving save from the Mambas goalie Hernani Siluane.

It has been a relatively sluggish start to the encounter. Gabon dominating possession, but Mozambique not threatened as much due to a robust defensive structure. The Mambas are banking on counter-attacks, though neither side has done enough in the final third as yet.

Mozambique take the lead in the 37th minute! Faizal Bangal puts the Mambas ahead with a well-directed header from close range.

Mozambique double their lead in the 42nd minute! After scoring from a corner, the Mambas now convert a penalty, with Geny Catamo doing the needful from the spot. It all began when Gabon centre-back Bruno Ecuele Manga was booked for a rough tackle in the danger area. Mozambique, unexpectedly, are firmly in the driver's seat in the first half.

Gabon are not going down without a fight. They pull one back at the stroke of half-time, with star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring to make the scoreline 1-2 and the match more interesting. Let's see how the second half pans out.

The players return from the mid-game interval and the second half begins in Agadir. Mozambique now kicking from left to right and Gabon the other way.

Mozambique net a third in the 52nd minute! They reaffirm their ascendancy in this encounter, as Diogo Calila scores his first-ever goal for the Mambas. Gabon now on the verge of elimination, unless they can produce a miraculous comeback.

Frantic stuff in Morocco! Gabon are unstoppable in the box as they force Hernani Siluane to pull off a cracking double save, before eventually beating him. Alex Moucketou-Moussounda gets the shot past the Mozambique goalie as Gabon cut the deficit down to 2-3 in the 76th minute.

The Mozambique bench rises as the ball goes into the net in the 90th minute, but the offside flag goes up instantly. Seven minutes added as stoppage time, as Gabon's desperate search for an equaliser continues.

Mozambique make history! They hold on for a nervy 3-2 win over a spirited Gabon to earn their maiden Africa Cup of Nations victory. What's more, the Mambas keep their hopes of qualification from Group F alive. It is the end of the road for Gabon, however.