By Mark Gleeson

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Record winners Egypt face the bleak prospect of missing out on yet another African Nations Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Tunisia on Wednesday left them with no points from their first two qualifiers for the 2015 finals.

The defeat in Cairo leaves Egypt six points adrift of Group G pacesetters Tunisia and Senegal, who were 2-0 winners in Botswana on a busy night of qualifiers for the tournament in Morocco in January. Cameroon continued their rehabilitation after a disappointing World Cup with a crushing 4-1 win over the Ivory Coast while Algeria beat Mali to maintain the form that helped them reach the last 16 in Brazil.

Holders Nigeria, who suffered a surprise home defeat at the weekend, picked up their first point with a goalless draw against South Africa in Cape Town in Group A, where Congo lead the standings after beating Sudan 2-0 in Pointe Noire.

There were also wins for Burkina Faso, the Cape Verde Islands, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda among the 14 qualifying matches played across the continent on Wednesday. Plucky Lesotho missed out on a rare success when they conceded a last-gasp goal to draw 1-1 at home to Gabon.

Fakhreddine Ben Youssef scored in the 14th minute, and hit the post in the second half, as Tunisia upstaged Egypt and left them bottom of Group G.

Egypt have won a record seven Nations Cup titles, including three in a row from 2006 to 2010, but did not qualify for the last two tournaments and are already struggling to avoid a third successive failure. Having lost to Senegal on Friday in their opening game, the home defeat to Tunisia is a severe setback for new coach Shawki Gharib.

Cameroon have a 100 percent record in Group D after Vincent Aboubakar and Clinton Njie scored twice each in a 4-1 demolition of Ivory Coast in Yaounde.

CONVULSION

Paris St Germain's Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier suffered a convulsion after he knocked his head in a challenge with home captain Stephane Mbia. The Ivorian federation announced later that he had recovered.

Algeria top Group B after sneaking a 1-0 home win over Mali in Blida with a goal from defender Carl Medjani, while Burkina Faso, surprise runners-up at the last finals, won 3-0 away in Angola to advance to six points in Group C.

Christian Atsu scored a late winner to give Ghana a 3-2 victory at neighbours Togo, after the hosts' Emmanuel Adebayor had levelled the scores at 2-2 going into the final minutes in Lome.

Cape Verde beat Zambia 2-1 in Praia to leave the 2012 champions floundering in Group F with just a single point.

There will be two more rounds of qualifiers next month and two in November. The top two finishers in each of the seven groups, plus the best of third-placed side, join hosts Morocco in the finals from Jan. 17 to Feb. 8.

(Editing by Toby Davis)