The AFCON 2027 Qualifiers will begin on September 24, with 48 national teams divided into 12 groups. The road to the tournament hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will feature several notable matchups from the opening round.
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The Must-Watch Matches in Matchday 1 of the AFCON 2027 Qualifiers
Ivory Coast against Ghana headlines an opening round that also features important fixtures for Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria. South Africa and Guinea will meet in a particularly significant clash because of their group's qualification format.
Here are seven games worth watching.
Ivory Coast vs. Ghana — September 24
Group C will begin with one of the most attractive fixtures of the qualifying campaign.
Ivory Coast, champions of the 2023 edition, will host Ghana, another national team with a distinguished continental history. The Elephants will also begin a new chapter under head coach Hervé Renard.
With Gambia and Somalia completing the group, the opening result could carry significant weight in the race for its two qualification spots.
Morocco will host Gabon at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdallah.
The Atlas Lions will begin their campaign under head coach Mohamed Ouahbi, with a squad featuring several established international stars.
Gabon provide a demanding opening test in a group that also includes Niger and Lesotho.
Egypt vs. Angola — September 25
The most successful national team in AFCON history will begin its campaign at Cairo International Stadium.
Seven-time continental champions Egypt will face Angola in Group B, which also includes Malawi and South Sudan.
With Mohamed Salah among their leading players, the Pharaohs will look to open with a victory against one of their direct rivals for qualification.
Nigeria vs. Madagascar — September 25
Nigeria will host Madagascar with an unusual complication: only one of those two teams, alongside Guinea-Bissau, can qualify from Group L.
The other place is automatically reserved for Tanzania, one of the tournament's three hosts.
The Super Eagles will also begin without Victor Osimhen, who was ruled out with a muscle injury after initially being named in the squad.
Mali vs. Cape Verde — September 25
Group K will feature another important meeting between two teams drawn from the first and second seeding pots, respectively.
Mali will host Cape Verde, who reached the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
Both teams share the group with Rwanda and Liberia, making the opening clash an opportunity to assess two of the group's most internationally experienced sides.
South Africa vs. Guinea — September 26
This match carries particular significance because of the qualification format.
South Africa and Guinea share Group D with Kenya, automatically qualified as co-hosts, and Eritrea.
Only the highest-placed team among the three non-host nations will secure the remaining qualification spot. The direct meeting between South Africa and Guinea could therefore have important consequences from the opening round.
Kenya vs. Eritrea — September 26
The opening matchday will also feature a different kind of story.
Eritrea returned to AFCON qualifying in March 2026 after an absence of almost two decades and advanced after defeating Eswatini 4-1 on aggregate.
They will now visit Kenya, one of the tournament hosts, at the beginning of a campaign that could lead to their first-ever appearance at the continental finals.
