2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers: All results and standings after the first round

All 48 national teams have now played their opening match in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Here are all the results and standings.

The first round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers ended on Saturday, September 26, after three days of competition and 24 matches. Several contenders got their campaigns off to the best possible start, including Algeria, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Nigeria, while Egypt, Senegal and Tunisia have already dropped two points.

As a reminder, the top two teams from each group will qualify for the finals, except in Groups D, H and L. Since Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have already secured qualification as the co-hosting nations, only the best team from outside the host nations will claim the other qualification spot in each of these three groups. The full schedule for the first two rounds offers a preview of the upcoming fixtures.

Group A: Morocco lead Niger

• Morocco 2-0 Gabon
• Niger 2-1 Lesotho

Standings: 1. Morocco - 3 points (+2); 2. Niger - 3 points (+1); 3. Lesotho - 0 points (-1); 4. Gabon - 0 points (-2).

Morocco made a successful start by beating Gabon, while Niger also claimed three valuable points against Lesotho.

Group B: Malawi lead outright

• Malawi 2-1 South Sudan
• Egypt 0-0 Angola

Standings: 1. Malawi - 3 points (+1); 2=. Egypt - 1 point (0); 2=. Angola - 1 point (0); 4. South Sudan - 0 points (-1).

Group C: Good starts for Côte d’Ivoire and Gambia

• Côte d’Ivoire 2-0 Ghana
• Gambia 2-1 Somalia

Standings: 1. Côte d’Ivoire - 3 points (+2); 2. Gambia - 3 points (+1); 3. Somalia - 0 points (-1); 4. Ghana - 0 points (-2).

Group D: South Africa have the edge

• Kenya 1-1 Eritrea
• South Africa 2-1 Guinea

Standings: 1. South Africa - 3 points (+1); 2=. Kenya - 1 point (0); 2=. Eritrea - 1 point (0); 4. Guinea - 0 points (-1).

Group E: DR Congo lead the way

• DR Congo 2-0 Equatorial Guinea
• Sierra Leone 2-3 Zimbabwe

Standings: 1. DR Congo - 3 points (+2); 2. Zimbabwe - 3 points (+1); 3. Sierra Leone - 0 points (-1); 4. Equatorial Guinea - 0 points (-2).

Group F: Mauritania lead by a margin

• Mauritania 3-1 Central African Republic
• Burkina Faso 1-1 Benin

Standings: 1. Mauritania - 3 points (+2); 2=. Burkina Faso - 1 point (0); 2=. Benin - 1 point (0); 4. Central African Republic - 0 points (-2).

Group G: Cameroon lead the group

• Namibia 1-0 Congo
• Cameroon 3-1 Comoros

Standings: 1. Cameroon - 3 points (+2); 2. Namibia - 3 points (+1); 3. Congo - 0 points (-1); 4. Comoros - 0 points (-2).

Group H: Four teams on one point

• Libya 2-2 Botswana
• Tunisia 1-1 Uganda

Standings: 1=. Libya - 1 point (scored two goals); 1=. Botswana - 1 point (scored two goals); 3=. Tunisia - 1 point (scored one goal); 3=. Uganda - 1 point (scored one goal).

Group I: Algeria lead on goal difference

• Togo 1-0 Burundi
• Algeria 3-1 Zambia

Standings: 1. Algeria - 3 points (+2); 2. Togo - 3 points (+1); 3. Burundi - 0 points (-1); 4. Zambia - 0 points (-2).

The Desert Foxes moved top of the group after their 3-1 win over Zambia, with goals from Jaouen Hadjam, Ibrahim Maza and Anis Hadj Moussa.

Group J: Sudan benefit from Senegal draw

• Sudan 1-0 Ethiopia
• Mozambique 1-1 Senegal

Standings: 1. Sudan - 3 points (+1); 2=. Senegal - 1 point (0); 2=. Mozambique - 1 point (0); 4. Ethiopia - 0 points (-1).

Senegal, led by Patrick Vieira, stumbled in their opening match against Mozambique, temporarily surrendering top spot to Sudan.

Group K: Mali and Rwanda go head-to-head

• Rwanda 3-1 Liberia
• Mali 3-1 Cape Verde

Standings: 1=. Mali - 3 points (+2); 1=. Rwanda - 3 points (+2); 3=. Cape Verde - 0 points (-2); 3=. Liberia - 0 points (-2).

Group L: Guinea-Bissau deliver a major blow

• Tanzania 0-2 Guinea-Bissau
• Nigeria 2-1 Madagascar

Standings: 1. Guinea-Bissau - 3 points (+2); 2. Nigeria - 3 points (+1); 3. Madagascar - 0 points (-1); 4. Tanzania - 0 points (-2).

Read also: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers: All Saturday results and goalscorers

Mahdi Zakaria LAZRI |

Editor

Football web writer creating digital sports content with a focus on news, analysis and stories that reflect passion, accuracy and objectivity.