The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign continued on Friday with several Matchday 1 fixtures across the continent, with teams battling for an early advantage in their respective groups.
Below are the results and scheduled matches, with kick-off times in GMT.
Group A
Niger 2-1 Lesotho
Accra, Ghana
Niger secured victory through goals from Sosah in the 38th minute and Sako in the 45th. Lesotho pulled one back through Motebang, who converted a penalty in the 85th minute.
Morocco vs Gabon
Rabat, 7:00pm
Group B
Malawi 2-1 South Sudan
Lilongwe
Malawi scored through Adepoju in the 20th minute and Njaliwa in the 64th. Dhata scored South Sudan’s goal in the 48th minute.
Egypt vs Angola
Cairo, 7:00pm
Group C
Gambia 2-1 Somalia
Bakau
Gambia took the lead through Colley, who converted a penalty in the 18th minute. Somalia equalised through Njie in the 72nd minute, but Badamosi restored Gambia’s advantage in the 83rd minute.
Thursday: Ivory Coast 2-0 Ghana
Bouake
Yalcouye opened the scoring in the 44th minute before Kessie doubled the lead from the penalty spot in the 58th minute.
Group D
Saturday: Kenya vs Eritrea
Nairobi, 1:00pm
Saturday: South Africa vs Guinea
Soweto, 1:00pm
Group E
Thursday: DR Congo 2-0 Equatorial Guinea
Kinshasa
Mbemba gave DR Congo an early lead in the fourth minute, while Wissa added the second in the 72nd minute.
Thursday: Sierra Leone 2-3 Zimbabwe
El Jadida, Morocco
Sierra Leone scored through Conteh and Tarawallie, but Zimbabwe completed a comeback with three second-half goals. Munetsi scored twice in the 72nd and 89th minutes, while Chirewa struck in the 77th.
Group F
Burkina Faso vs Benin
Ouagadougou, 7:00pm
Thursday: Mauritania 3-1 Central African Republic
Casablanca, Morocco
Mauritania took the lead through Koita’s 31st-minute penalty. Camara extended the advantage in the 69th minute before Diallo added a third in the 89th. Koyalipou scored for Central African Republic in the 48th minute.
Group G
Thursday: Namibia 1-0 Congo Brazzaville
Gaborone, Botswana
Muzeu scored in the 47th minute to give Namibia all three points.
Thursday: Cameroon 3-1 Comoros
Garoua
Nyengue put Cameroon ahead in the 39th minute before Mbeumo doubled the lead three minutes after the restart. Omari pulled one back for Comoros in the 51st minute, but Namaso sealed Cameroon’s victory in the 81st.
Group H
Thursday: Libya 2-2 Botswana
Tripoli
Botswana raced into a two-goal lead through Orebonye in the 30th and 43rd minutes. Libya fought back late, with Alhibeeshi scoring in the 87th minute before El Mariamy converted a stoppage-time penalty in the 96th minute.
Thursday: Tunisia 1-1 Uganda
Rades, Tunisia
Arous gave Tunisia an early lead in the 12th minute, but Uganda responded through Mato in the 68th.
Group I
Togo 1-0 Burundi
Lome
Karim’s 17th-minute goal was enough to give Togo victory.
Algeria vs Zambia
Tizi Ouzou, 7:00pm
Group J
Sudan 1-0 Ethiopia
Juba, South Sudan
Sudan secured the win after Eisa converted an 86th-minute penalty.
Mozambique 1-1 Senegal
Maputo
Senegal took the lead through Jackson in the 32nd minute. Mozambique levelled just before half-time when Catamo scored in the second minute of stoppage time.
Group K
Rwanda 3-1 Liberia
Kigali
Rwanda made a fast start through Biramahire’s second-minute goal. Mickels added two more in the 33rd and 44th minutes, with the latter coming from the penalty spot. Liberia’s only goal came from Nimely in the 38th minute.
Mali vs Cape Verde
Bamako, 7:00pm
Group L
Tanzania 0-2 Guinea-Bissau
Zanzibar City
Guinea-Bissau claimed victory with goals from Dju in the 33rd minute and Balde in the 58th.
Nigeria 2-1 Madagascar
Uyo
Madagascar took an early lead through Kari in the 16th minute, but Nigeria turned the match around through Ilenikhena in first-half stoppage time and Usor in the 65th minute.
Neutral Venues
Niger, Sierra Leone, Mauritania and Namibia played their home fixtures at neutral venues because they do not currently have stadiums meeting international standards.
Sudan also played away from home territory because of the ongoing civil war.
