Stephen Appiah scored twice for Ghana against South Africa

The victory, against a strong Bafana Bafana side, made up for the disappointment of losing to Burkina Faso in their opening game.

Sulley Muntari put Ghana ahead in the 14th minute with a brilliant left-foot volley after the South African defence failed to clear Stephen Appiah's cross.

A mix up in South Africa defence 10 minutes after the break allowed captain Appiah to lob the ball over goalkeeper Josephs for the second goal.

Appiah then claimed his second goal in the 78th minute when he drove at the heart of the South African defence before picking up his spot with all the skill of a Serie 'A' player.

Sunday's other game was a thriller in Kinshasa as the Democratic Republic of Congo grabbed a last gasp winner against Burkina Faso to win the match 3-2.

The DR Congo took an early lead with a goal from Mbayo Kibemba in the 11th minute before Amadou Traore equalised on the half hour mark.

The game then exploded into life in the final 15 minutes with Mbala Mbuta putting the DR Congo ahead on 77 minutes before Burkina Faso once again drew level through Mamadou Kagaro on 85 minutes.

A penalty two minutes later from Bageta Kapo 87 sealed all three points for the DR Congo.

Uganda lost to Cape Verde in a 2006 World Cup qualifier

Cape Verde Islands, who almost shocked favourites South Africa in their opening Group Two game, beat Uganda with a goal from Portugal-based striker Cafu.

The 1-0 win in Praia came in only the sixth World Cup match for the island archipelago.

They first entered the World Cup preliminaries for the 2002 finals in Japan and South Korea.