Strikers Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba stole the limelight at the African Nations Cup in Cairo on Saturday when World Cup finalists Angola and Togo were brought down to earth with a bump.
There was plenty of action off the pitch too, with Democratic Republic of Congo players threatening to boycott their game with Togo until six hours before kickoff and Arsenal's new signing Emmanuel Adebayor telling reporters he was going home to Lome after a row with Togo's coach.
Eto'o hit a hat-trick as Cameroon romped to a 3-1 win over Angola, Drogba converted a penalty to give Ivory Coast a 1-0 win over Morocco and Togo slumped to a 2-0 defeat by a modest DR Congo.
Togo and Angola, who will play at the World Cup for the first time, were surprise qualifiers for the finals in Germany later this year.
Sceptics had warned that both teams would get found out in Egypt and their opening games at the Nations Cup certainly suggest they are destined to struggle come June.
Cameroon, who failed to qualify for Germany after missing a last-minute penalty in their final qualifier against Egypt, out-muscled and outplayed the Angolans at Cairo's Military Stadium.
Eto'o floored their opponents with his full array of attacking talent, curling home a free kick, heading in a second and bringing up his hat-trick with a shot from the edge of the area in the closing stages.
"Cameroon are here to go as far as possible," the Barcelona striker said after his tour de force in Group B.
Togo were cut down to size by Portsmouth forward Lomana LuaLua, who made one and scored another as he captained DR Congo to victory despite protracted negotiations over money.
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LuaLua, who was sent off at the 2004 Nations Cup in Tunisia, said a threat by his team not to play had only been called off six hours before the Group B game.
Togo's Mohamed Kader Coubadja missed an open goal and things went rapidly downhill for his team when LuaLua fed the ball through and Tresor Mputu provided the finish just before the break.
Captain LuaLua fired in the second against a sinking Togo side, whose main striker Adebayor had failed to start after a row with team coach Stephen Keshi.
Just signed by Premier League club Arsenal, Adebayor told reporters after the match he was leaving the finals to go back to Lome to be with his mother, who he said is ill.
Ivory Coast, who are expected to do better at the World Cup, had their captain to thank for victory after Drogba converted a first half penalty in their win over Morocco.
The bad news for the Ivorians was that Drogba was substituted after 65 minutes with a knee injury that makes him a doubt for their next game in Group A against Libya.
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