Malawi's victory over the World Cup qualifiers in Luanda was followed by a similarly surprising showing from Burkina Faso, who held pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast to a goalless draw in Cabinda.
Togo were officially disqualified after the scheduled kick-off time of their Group B match with Ghana, which did not take place because of the departure of the Togolese from the tournament some 24 hours earlier.
Togo's team had spoken of hoping to return after leaving Cabinda in the wake of Friday's bus attack that killed two of their delegation.
Cabinda's new Chiazi stadium was largely empty, amid tight security, as Didier Drogba and his much-vaunted team mates squandered several chances.
"We knew they would sit back and wait for us and Burkina Faso didn't really play," Ivory coast defender Kolo Toure told reporters.
Malawi's triumph was emphatic and will have left Algeria's World Cup finals opponents, including England, far from convinced about the north Africans' ability to be competitive in South Africa in six months' time.
"We are the only underdogs in this tournament but we know our own strengths," Malawi midfielder Joseph Kamwendo said in a television interview.
"We just seek to play it simple and this is a good start for us. We want to reach as far as we can and we need to build on what we did in this game."
