AFCON 2027 qualifiers: five first-matchday fixtures not to miss

The group stage of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers begins on September 24, 2026, and ends on March 30, 2027. The first matchday will be spread over three days: Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Discover the five headline fixtures.

DR Congo - Equatorial Guinea

The Leopards face Nzalang Nacional on Thursday, September 24, at the Stade des Martyrs, behind closed doors due to the partial approval of the Congolese venue.

Sébastien Desabre's men want to begin the qualifiers with a victory against a formidable Equatorial Guinea side before taking on Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.

Semifinalists in 2015, Equatorial Guinea are aiming for a fourth consecutive AFCON qualification after 2021, 2023 and 2025.

Ivory Coast – Ghana

Group C of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers opens with a clash between heavyweights Ivory Coast and Ghana. The two national teams are beginning a new era, with Hervé Renard in charge of the Elephants and Carlos Queiroz on the Black Stars' bench.

The historical record between the two national teams is balanced, with seven wins for CIV, six for Ghana and three draws. Each team has scored 40 goals in these encounters.

The last meeting was a friendly in June 2021 and ended in a draw (0-0). One must go back to 2015 for the last competitive match, which was the 2015 AFCON final, won by the Ivorians on penalties.

Cameroon – Comoros

Cameroon and Comoros meet again this Thursday. The two national teams faced each other in the 2019 AFCON qualifiers. The first leg ended in a draw (1-1), while the return leg was won by the Indomitable Lions (3-0).

There was a more recent encounter in January 2022 in the AFCON round of 16, which Cameroon won with difficulty (2-1).

Morocco – Gabon

The Atlas Lions host the Panthers this Friday on the first matchday of Group A. It promises to be an exciting match between a Moroccan side that has been in good form in recent years and a Gabonese team in decline.

Morocco have the historical edge over their opponents, having won 10 times compared with Gabon's six victories. Four matches have ended in draws.

The two national teams met in the 2024 AFCON qualifiers, with Morocco winning both matches (4-1) at home and (1-5) away.

Mali - Cape Verde

Mali begin their qualifiers by hosting Cape Verde, a team on the rise that did Africa proud at the last 2026 World Cup by reaching the round of 32 before narrowly losing to Argentina.

There has been just one previous meeting between the Eagles of Mali and the Blue Sharks, in the 2012 AFCON qualifiers, with Cape Verde winning the first leg (1-0) and Mali taking revenge a year later in the return leg (3-0).

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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AFCON - Africa Cup of Nations