African football heavyweights Nigeria, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ghana boosted their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaigns with important victories as Matchday Three delivered significant results across the continent.
The latest round of fixtures, played between Thursday and Saturday, November 12 and 14, produced convincing performances from several title contenders, while unexpected setbacks for Tunisia and South Africa highlighted the increasingly competitive nature of the qualifying race.
Morocco, Ivory Coast and DR Congo maintained their perfect starts, while Nigeria returned to winning ways after an inconsistent opening to their campaign. Ghana also secured a much-needed victory to revive their hopes of reaching the tournament.
With Matchday Four scheduled for November 16 and 17, the November double-header presents teams with an immediate opportunity to consolidate their positions or recover lost ground.
Nigeria revive qualification hopes with Tanzania victory
Nigeria strengthened their position in Group L with a 3-1 victory over Tanzania at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
Alhassan Yusuf opened the scoring after just two minutes, but Tanzania restored parity through Alphonce Msanga in the 32nd minute.
The Super Eagles responded strongly after the interval, with Tolu Arokodare scoring twice in the 52nd and 60th minutes to secure all three points for Eric Chelle’s side.
The result takes Nigeria to six points from three matches, keeping them firmly in contention alongside Guinea-Bissau, who drew 1-1 with Madagascar.
However, Tanzania’s status as one of the three co-hosts means they are already assured of qualification. Only one additional place is available from Group L, making the contest between Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar particularly important.
Nigeria will travel to Tanzania for the return fixture on November 17, knowing that another victory would further strengthen their qualification prospects.
Morocco maintain perfect record with five-star performance
Morocco continued their impressive campaign with a commanding 5-1 victory over Niger in Casablanca.
Yassir Zabiri opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Achraf Hakimi struck twice to give the Atlas Lions a comfortable advantage.
Niger briefly threatened a response through Mohamed Abdouramane, but Youssef En-Nesyri and Ayoub Oufkir added further goals to complete the emphatic victory.
The result gives Morocco nine points from three matches and a commanding position at the top of Group A.
The Atlas Lions will face Niger again in the return fixture on November 17 as they seek to maintain their unbeaten qualification record.
Ivory Coast and Senegal continue impressive runs
Defending champions Ivory Coast maintained their perfect start with a 2-1 victory over The Gambia in Bouaké.
Malick Yalcouyé and Elye Wahi scored within the opening 24 minutes to put the Elephants in control before Musa Barrow reduced the deficit for Gambia.
The victory gives Ivory Coast nine points from three matches, strengthening their position at the top of Group C.
Senegal also delivered an emphatic performance, defeating Sudan 4-1 in Dakar.
Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring before Boulaye Dia, Ibrahim Mbaye and Pathé Mboup completed the victory. Mohamed Abuaagla scored Sudan’s consolation.
The result takes Senegal to seven points from three matches in Group J, keeping them firmly in the qualification race.
Ghana end three-year wait for AFCON qualifying victory
Ghana finally ended their three-year wait for an AFCON qualifying victory with a 2-0 triumph over Somalia.
Jonas Adjetey broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time before Felix Afena-Gyan doubled the advantage in the 62nd minute.
The victory was particularly important for the Black Stars, who had lost their opening two qualifying matches and entered the fixture under pressure.
Ghana now have three points in Group C, although they remain behind Ivory Coast and The Gambia in the standings.
The Black Stars will travel to face Somalia again on November 16, with another victory essential to keeping their qualification ambitions alive.
Egypt, DR Congo and other contenders strengthen positions
Egypt produced one of the most convincing performances of the round, thrashing Malawi 5-0 in Cairo.
Nasser Maher, Omar Marmoush and Mohamed Hany scored in the first half before Mohamed Salah struck twice late in the encounter.
The brace took Salah’s international tally to 70 goals, further extending his status as Egypt’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Egypt now have seven points from three matches at the top of Group B.
DR Congo also maintained their winning run with a 3-1 victory over Sierra Leone, taking their points tally to nine in Group E.
Cameroon strengthened their position in Group G with a 2-0 win over Namibia, while Benin defeated Central African Republic 4-1.
Mali also recorded an important 3-2 victory over Rwanda to move to nine points in Group K.
Elsewhere, Guinea defeated Eritrea 2-1, Burkina Faso edged Mauritania 1-0 and Gabon overcame Lesotho 2-0.
Tunisia suffer setback as Libya claim derby victory
Tunisia endured one of the biggest disappointments of the round, losing 2-0 to Libya in Sfax.
Ali Youssef converted a penalty before Hamdou El Houni doubled Libya’s advantage in the second half.
The defeat leaves Tunisia with just two points from three matches in Group H, putting their qualification campaign under considerable pressure.
Libya moved to four points, strengthening their challenge for one of the available places.
South Africa also dropped valuable points after being held to a 2-2 draw by Kenya in Johannesburg.
Bafana Bafana took the lead through an Amos Wanjala own goal before Michael Olunga equalised from the penalty spot. Relebohile Mofokeng restored South Africa’s advantage, but Ryan Ogam struck in stoppage time to earn Kenya a point.
South Africa remain top of Group D with seven points, but the result offers Guinea and Kenya renewed opportunities to challenge their position.
Matchday Three results at a glance
Thursday, November 12
- Ghana 2-0 Somalia
- Madagascar 1-1 Guinea-Bissau
- DR Congo 3-1 Sierra Leone
- Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Zimbabwe
- Guinea 2-1 Eritrea
- Cameroon 2-0 Namibia
- Ivory Coast 2-1 Gambia
- Senegal 4-1 Sudan
- Benin 4-1 Central African Republic
Friday, November 13
- Comoros 0-0 Congo
- Zambia 1-1 Burundi
- Mozambique 0-1 Ethiopia
- Gabon 2-0 Lesotho
- South Africa 2-2 Kenya
- Burkina Faso 1-0 Mauritania
- Cape Verde 4-2 Liberia
- Nigeria 3-1 Tanzania
- Tunisia 0-2 Libya
- Egypt 5-0 Malawi
- Mali 3-2 Rwanda
- Morocco 5-1 Niger
Saturday’s fixtures: November 14
Matchday Three concludes with three fixtures involving Uganda, Algeria and Angola.
- Uganda vs Botswana — 5:00pm (Group H)
- Algeria vs Togo — 8:00pm (Group I)
- Angola vs South Sudan — 8:00pm (Group B)
All kick-off times are Nigerian time.
Uganda will look to strengthen their position in Group H against Botswana, while Algeria seek an important victory against Togo in Group I.
Angola, meanwhile, will aim to take advantage of their home fixture against South Sudan as they pursue qualification in Group B.
Matchday Four set to intensify qualification race
Attention will quickly shift to Matchday Four, with the return fixtures scheduled for November 16 and 17.
Nigeria face Tanzania away from home, Morocco travel to Niger, while Ivory Coast visit The Gambia. Senegal return to action against Sudan, and Ghana face another meeting with Somalia.
The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
The three host nations have automatic places at the tournament, leaving 21 additional qualification spots to be decided.
In groups containing a host nation, only the highest-ranked non-host team will qualify alongside the automatic qualifier. In the remaining groups, the top two teams will advance.
With three matchdays remaining after the November fixtures, the battle for a place at AFCON 2027 is gathering momentum.
