The race for places at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations has begun, with teams across the continent entering the opening round of qualifying fixtures.
The qualification campaign for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, features 48 nations divided into 12 groups of four. Matchday 1 fixtures are being played between September 24 and 26, 2026.
Nigeria are among the teams starting their campaign on Friday, September 25, when the Super Eagles host Madagascar in a Group L encounter.
The match is scheduled for 4pm GMT, with Nigeria looking to open their qualifying campaign with a positive result on home soil.
Nigeria begin Group L campaign
The Super Eagles have been drawn in Group L alongside Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania.
However, the structure of the group is unusual because Tanzania are one of the three tournament co-hosts and are already guaranteed a place at the 2027 finals.
As a result, Nigeria, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau will compete for the remaining qualifying position from the group, making every point particularly important.
Nigeria’s opening assignment against Madagascar will therefore provide the first opportunity for Eric Chelle’s side to establish an advantage in the group.
The Super Eagles will then travel to face Guinea-Bissau in their second qualifying fixture on September 29.
Osimhen misses opening matches
Nigeria will begin the qualifying campaign without Victor Osimhen after the striker was ruled out of the opening two fixtures because of a muscle injury.
Osimhen had initially been included in Chelle’s squad but was subsequently withdrawn after suffering the injury while playing for Galatasaray.
The absence of the prolific forward leaves other attacking players with an opportunity to make an impact against Madagascar.
Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon, Akor Adams and Tolu Arokodare are among the attacking options available to the coach.
Other AFCON qualifiers produce early results
The first round of matches began on Thursday, with several teams already completing their opening fixtures.
Côte d’Ivoire defeated Ghana 2-0 in a major West African encounter, while Cameroon recorded a 3-1 victory over Comoros.
Tunisia and Uganda shared the points after a 1-1 draw, while DR Congo defeated Equatorial Guinea 2-0.
Zimbabwe also secured a 3-2 away victory over Sierra Leone, while Mauritania defeated the Central African Republic 3-1. Namibia recorded a 1-0 win against Congo, and Libya drew 2-2 with Botswana.
These results have provided the first points of the qualifying campaign, with the remaining Matchday 1 games scheduled to be completed over the following two days.
Major fixtures on Matchday 1
Several high-profile matches are included in the opening round.
Morocco will host Gabon, Egypt will face Angola and Algeria will welcome Zambia.
Senegal are scheduled to take on Mozambique, while Mali will meet Cape Verde. Burkina Faso will also face Benin in another West African fixture.
In Group L, Tanzania will play Guinea-Bissau before Nigeria take on Madagascar later in the day.
Matchday 2 comes quickly
The qualifying schedule leaves little time for teams to recover before the second round of matches.
Nigeria’s next fixture will be away against Guinea-Bissau on September 29, while Madagascar will face co-hosts Tanzania on the same day.
The second matchday will be followed by another international window in November before the final two rounds of qualification take place in March 2027.
Qualification format
The 48 teams competing in the group stage have been divided into 12 groups of four.
For groups without a tournament co-host, the teams finishing first and second will qualify for the AFCON finals.
Because Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are automatically qualified as hosts, their respective groups will have one additional qualification place available to the highest-ranked team apart from the host nation.
The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations is scheduled to take place from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
For Nigeria, the immediate objective is to collect maximum points against Madagascar before turning attention to the trip to Guinea-Bissau.
With Tanzania already guaranteed a place at the finals, the Super Eagles cannot afford to lose ground in the early stages of the Group L campaign.
