Egypt registered a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Gabon in their opening game of the CAF U-23 Championship on Sunday. A dull affair was settled by a second-half goal from Ghazl Mahalla midfielder Ahmed Magdi, who slid home a low ball by Omar Gaber on 56 minutes. Hany Ramzy's side were hoping for a bigger win as they now face tough tests against Group B rivals Ivory Coast and South Africa in their quest to reach the 2012 Olympic Games. Ivory Coast, who represented Africa in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, entertain South Africa later in Marrakech. Egypt's next game will be against the Elephants on Wednesday.