Senegal 0-1 Egypt
The game of the round was a rematch of the previous African Cup of Nations final as Mohamed Salah led an Egypt side hoping to avenge their defeat to Sadio Mane's Senegal by ruining their chances of going to the World Cup.
And Egypt had the perfect start after Salah thundered a shot off the bar which found the net on the rebound off the leg of Senegalese defender Saliou Ciss, sending Cairo stadium into raptures in a heartbreaking moment for the Lions of Teranga who were immediately on the back foot.
Egypt were able to hold on to that lead despite some moments of brilliance from Mane and will take an important advantage into the second leg next week.
DR Congo 1-1 Morocco
The early match of the day's action saw DR Congo welcome Morocco to Kinshasa's Stade des Martyrs and took an early lead through Brentford forward Yoane Wissa in the 12th minute after his shot took a lucky deflection to find the back of the net.
Morocco began to gain momentum back heading into the second half though, and earned a penalty in the 55th minute only for Ryan Mmaee to fire it over the crossbar.
They finally broke through in the 76th minute as Tarik Tissoudali fired home after a clinical counter attack to restore parity and even the playing field for the return leg.
Mali 0-1 Tunisia
Mali defender Moussa Sissako had a day to forget, conceding an own goal then being sent off in controversial circumstances as Les Aigles got off to a less than ideal start at home against Tunisia.
In just his fourth appearance for the national team, a haphazard back pass to keeper Ibrahim Mounkoro nestled in the Tunisia net in the 36th minute.
It only got worse four minutes later when Sissako brought down Seifeddine Jaziri as the last man in Mali's defence, prompting a red card from the referee despite little evidence of contact.
Mali will need a huge effort to turn the deficit around without one of their starting defenders in next week's second leg.
Cameroon 0-1 Algeria
Algeria were victorious away in the first leg against Cameroon after striker Islam Slimani headed home from a free kick in the 40th minute for his eighth goal in the qualifiers so far.
It was a frustrating day for Cameroon as they failed to mount any serious attacks on the Algerian defence to restore parity after Slimani's strike and had a delayed start to the second half after the lights went out at the newly-built Japoma stadium.
Arab Cup champions Algeria are now in a great position to reach the World Cup in Qatar, providing they can do enough in the return leg at home next week.
Ghana 0-0 Nigeria
The 'Jollof derby' finished all square at Baba Yara stadium as Ghana and Nigeria failed to find the back of the net and leave things wide open for the second leg.
Both teams had chances but their keepers held firm between the sticks, with the game almost decided 15 minutes from time after Nigeria were awarded a penalty after a handball from Ghana's Idrissu Baba Mohamed. That penalty then became a free kick to Ghana following a VAR review.
The two sides will look to be more clinical in their execution in next week's decider with a spot in the World Cup still on the line.
CAF World Cup Qualifying third round - LIVE SBS schedule
Second leg matches - Wednesday, March 30
Football: African WC Qualifier - Nigeria v Ghana - Second leg
03:45-06:30 (AEDT)
LIVE on SBS On Demand
Football: African WC Qualifier - Senegal v Egypt - Second leg
03:45-06:30 (AEDT)
LIVE on SBS and SBS On Demand
Football: African WC Qualifier - Tunisia v Mali - Second leg
06:15-09:00 (AEDT)
LIVE on SBS On Demand
Football: African WC Qualifier - Morocco v DR Congo - Second leg
06:15-09:00 (AEDT)
LIVE on SBS On Demand
Football: African WC Qualifier - Cameroon v Algeria - Second leg
06:15-09:00 (AEDT)
LIVE on SBS and SBS On Demand
