Just as the match looked to be heading for a goalless draw, Hambira struck a late goal to give his team a shock 1-0 victory at the at the Stade de Marrakech.

Ivory Coast, third at the 2015 edition of the competition for home-based African players, came into the Group B contest as clear favourites.

Namibia held firm throughout and nicked it at the end through Hambira, whose strike sparked wild celebrations from his team-mates.

Zambia went top of Group B with a 3-1 win over Uganda at the same venue.

In Group A, Sudan earned a 2-1 victory over Guinea at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca to join hosts Morocco on three points.

Omar Suleiman opened the scoring midway through the first half with a header before Sekou Camara responded in kind 11 minutes after the break.

Maki Saifeldin then missed a glorious opportunity to put Sudan back in front when he missed a penalty.

But he made amends shortly after with what proved to be the winning goal as he converted a pinpoint Mohamed Bangoura cross.

The event was initially due to be held in Kenya before the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped the country of the tournament due to infrastructure concerns.

CAF President Ahmad, who goes by a single name, and FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura were both in attendance yesterday.