Feisal Salum scored the winner for Tanzania in the second half as they edged visitors Madagascar 3-2 in Dar es Salaam.
Taifa Stars had seen their two-nil lead inside the half hour lost after goals from Njiva Rakotoharimalala and Thomas Fontaine cancelled out Erasto Nyoni and Dismas Novatus early strikes.
Nyoni struck from the penalty inside one minute after Simon Msuva was felled in the area after just five seconds.
Taifa Stars now lead Group J on four points, same as Benin who have scored less.
Ugandan referees led by Mashood Ssali handled the game.
In Bahir Dar, Ethiopia scored a late winner to down Zimbabwe with St. George defender Aschalew Tamene converting from the spot in the 94th minute.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Burkina Faso played to a 1-1 draw with African champions Algeria; Equatorial Guinea edged Mauritania 1-0 in Malabo in Group B while Angola lost 1-0 to Libya in Group F.
Senegal also maintained their 100% start to the campaign with a 3-1 win away in Congo while, Malawi beat Mozambique 1-0 and Sudan were 4-2 losers at home to Guinea Bissau.
In the other game played Tunisia skipper Wahbi Khazri and Anis Slimane scored as they beat Zambia 2-0 in Group B.
The victory saw Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles maintain their unbeaten start to the qualifiers as well as keeping a second consecutive clean sheet.
Tuesday September 7 2021 Results
- Burkina Faso 1-1 Algeria – Marrakech (Group A)
- Zambia 0-2 Tunisia – Ndola (Group B)
- Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Mauritania – Malabo (Group B)
- Cape Verde 1-2 Nigeria – Mindelo (Group C)
- Malawi 1-0 Mozambique – Johannesburg (Group D)
- Angola 0-1 Libya – Luanda (Group F)
- Ethiopia 1-0 Zimbabwe – Bahir (Group G)
- Congo 1-3 Senegal – Brazzaville (Group H)
- Sudan 2-4 Guinea Bissau – Khartoum (Group I)
- Tanzania 3-2 Madagascar – Dar es Salam (Group J)