The TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2026/27 opened in thrilling fashion, with the first preliminary round delivering a flood of goals and some eye-catching individual displays across the continent.

Singida Black Stars produced the weekend's most dominant result, routing Al Ghazala Wau 7-1 away in Juba, while ASKO de Kara dismantled AS ZAM 5-0 on the road. ZED FC, Al Ahli Tripoli, and El Kanemi Warriors also recorded comfortable victories, though several ties remain open heading into the return legs scheduled from 11 to 13 September.

Mathew Tegisi (Singida Black Stars)

No individual stole the show quite like Mathew Tegisi, whose first-half hat-trick powered Singida Black Stars to their crushing 7-1 win over Al Ghazala Wau. The Tanzanian forward netted in the 20th, 23rd, and 32nd minutes — three goals in a breathtaking 12-minute spell — as his side raced to a four-goal lead before the break.

Jonathan Sowah added a brace in the second half to complete the rout, but it was the 22-year-old Tegisi who set the tone, continuing a rich vein of form that had already brought him goals in domestic competition this season.

Khalil Al-Qassab (ES Zarzis)

ES Zarzis were in danger of a damaging home defeat when Diambars of Senegal struck after just 13 minutes in Tunisia, but Khalil Al-Qassab turned the contest around almost single-handedly. He levelled in the 35th minute and struck again 11 minutes into the second half, before Samba added a third to seal a 3-1 victory.

The result carries extra significance: Zarzis are back in continental football for the first time in 20 years, and Al-Qassab's brace gives them a platform to push through to the next round.

Jimmy Kalema (Kitara FC)

Kitara FC overturned a one-goal deficit with a remarkable two-minute burst from Jimmy Kalema to beat Mogadishu City 2-1. The Ugandan side had trailed since the 17th minute when Kalema equalised with a clinical finish in the 33rd — then headed home Living Kabon's cross barely 60 seconds later to complete the turnaround.

The 23-year-old already has a record for rising to big occasions, having scored the goal that won Kitara the Uganda Cup last season. His quickfire double sets up a second leg in which Kitara will fancy their chances of a second preliminary round tie against Egyptian giants Al Ahly.

Claude Klidjè (ASKO de Kara)

ASKO de Kara laboured through a goalless first half away at AS ZAM before Claude Klidjè broke the deadlock on 58 minutes. He struck again 11 minutes later, and his double proved the catalyst for a dominant finish: Zouminhi Kader Gueo, Marius Akpaho, and Souleymane Coulibaly all added goals as the Togolese side ran out 5-0 winners.

The performance was a study in patience — ASKO had probed without reward for nearly an hour before Klidjè's opening goal unlocked a floodgate of chances and left them with a foot firmly in the next round.

Fiston Mayele (Al Ahli Tripoli)

DR Congo international Fiston Mayele marked his debut for Al Ahli Tripoli in the perfect manner, scoring in a 3-0 away victory over KMKM in Zanzibar. Captain Hamdou Elhouni opened the scoring in the 20th minute, and Mayele doubled the lead just two minutes later with his first goal for the Libyan club. Hocine Dehiri completed the scoring in the 27th minute, wrapping up a devastating seven-minute spell that put the tie beyond doubt.

Recruited to sharpen Al Ahli Tripoli's continental edge, Mayele made an immediate impact — and his continued threat after the interval, widely noted in match reports, underlines why the Libyan side head into the return fixture in Tripoli with confidence.