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2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

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The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This would be the 36th edition of the international men's football championship of Africa. The qualification began with the preliminary round, which ran from 25 to 31 March 2026, and concluded with the group stage, which are to be played in September, October and November, all in 2026. A total of 24 teams will qualify to play in the final tournament, including automatically qualified hosts Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Dates25 March 2026 – 30 March 2027
Teams54 (from 1 confederation)
Matchesplayed12
Goals scored25 (2.08 per match)
Quick facts Tournament details, Dates ...
2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates25 March 2026 – 30 March 2027
Teams54 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played12
Goals scored25 (2.08 per match)
Top scorer(s)Burundi Bienvenue Kanakimana
Eritrea Ali Sulieman (3 goals each)
← 2025
2028 →
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Entrants

All CAF member associations are eligible to enter the competition. The seeding was based on the FIFA World Ranking from 19 November 2025.

A total of 48 Teams, including the three co-hosts, will compete in the qualifying group stage. Teams ranked 1st to 42nd received a bye to that stage, while the teams ranked 43rd to 54th participated in the preliminary round.

More information Bye to group stage, Participating in preliminary round ...
From the January 2026 FIFA World Rankings[1]
Bye to group stage Participating in preliminary round
  1.  Morocco (8)
  2.  Senegal (12)
  3.  Nigeria (26)
  4.  Algeria (28)
  5.  Egypt (31)
  6.  Tunisia (41)
  7.  Ivory Coast (42)
  8.  Mali (53)
  9.  DR Congo (56)
  10.  Cameroon (57)
  11.  South Africa (61)
  12.  Burkina Faso (62)
  13.  Cape Verde (67)
  14.  Ghana (72)
  15.  Gabon (78)
  16.  Guinea (81)
  17.  Uganda (85)
  18.  Angola (89)
  19.  Zambia (91)
  20.  Benin (92)
  21.  Equatorial Guinea (97)
  22.  Mozambique (102)
  23.  Madagascar (105)
  24.  Comoros (109)
  25.  Niger (110)
  26.  Libya (111)
  27.  Tanzania (112)
  28.  Kenya (113)
  29.  Mauritania (115)
  30.  Gambia (116)
  31.  Sudan (117)
  32.  Namibia (118)
  33.  Sierra Leone (120)
  34.  Togo (124)
  35.  Malawi (126)
  36.  Zimbabwe (129)
  37.  Rwanda (131)
  38.  Guinea-Bissau (133)
  39.  Congo (134)
  40.  Botswana (138)
  41.  Central African Republic (139)
  42.  Liberia (141)
  1.  Lesotho (144)
  2.  Burundi (145)
  3.  Ethiopia (147)
  4.  Eswatini (159)
  5.  South Sudan (168)
  6.  Mauritius (176)
  7.  Chad (177)
  8.  São Tomé and Príncipe (189)
  9.  Djibouti (196)
  10.  Somalia (200)
  11.  Seychelles (203)
  12.  Eritrea[2] (unranked)
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Schedule

The schedule of the qualifying tournament is as follows.

More information Round, Matchday ...
Round Matchday Dates Matches
Preliminary round First leg 25–27 March 2026 Team 1 vs. Team 2
Second leg 29–31 March 2026 Team 2 vs. Team 1
Group stage Matchday 1 21 September – 6 October 2026 Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
Matchday 2 Team 2 vs. Team 3, Team 4 vs. Team 1
Matchday 3 9 November – 17 November 2026 Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 2 vs. Team 4
Matchday 4 Team 3 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 2
Matchday 5 22–30 March 2027 Team 2 vs. Team 1, Team 4 vs. Team 3
Matchday 6 Team 3 vs. Team 2, Team 1 vs. Team 4
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Preliminary round

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round

The twelve teams were split into six ties which were played in home-and-away two-legged format.[3][4]

More information Team 1, Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score ...
Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Djibouti 1–4 South Sudan0–41–0
Chad 0–8 Burundi0–40–4
Somalia 0–0 (4–2 p) Mauritius0–00–0
Seychelles 1–2 Lesotho0–01–2
Eritrea 4–1 Eswatini2–02–1
São Tomé and Príncipe 0–4 Ethiopia0–30–1
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Group stage

Draw

The group stage draw took place on 19 May 2026 at 3:00 pm (UTC+3) in Cairo, Egypt. The 48 national teams involved were divided into twelve groups of four each, which consisted of the 42 teams that entered directly, in addition to the six winners of the preliminary round, and were seeded into four pots of twelve each based on the April 2026 FIFA World Rankings (shown in parentheses).

Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament.

  1.  Morocco (6)
  2.  Senegal (18)
  3.  Egypt (24)
  4.  Nigeria (26)
  5.  Algeria (29)
  6.  Ivory Coast (31)
  7.  Tunisia (44)
  8.  Cameroon (45)
  9.  DR Congo (46)
  10.  Mali (52)
  11.  South Africa (60)
  12.  Burkina Faso (62)
  1.  Cape Verde (69)
  2.  Ghana (74)
  3.  Guinea (80)
  4.  Gabon (87)
  5.  Uganda (88; hosts)
  6.  Angola (89)
  7.  Benin (90)
  8.  Zambia (92)
  9.  Mozambique (101)
  10.  Madagascar (104)
  11.  Equatorial Guinea (105)
  12.  Comoros (109)
  1.  Kenya (111; hosts)
  2.  Libya (112)
  3.  Tanzania (113; hosts)
  4.  Niger (114)
  5.  Mauritania (115)
  6.  Gambia (116)
  7.  Sudan (117)
  8.  Sierra Leone (119)
  9.  Namibia (120)
  10.  Togo (121)
  11.  Malawi (127)
  12.  Rwanda (128)
  1.  Zimbabwe (130)
  2.  Guinea-Bissau (132)
  3.  Congo (133)
  4.  Central African Republic (139)
  5.  Liberia (140)
  6.  Botswana (146)
  7.  Burundi (142)
  8.  Ethiopia (144)
  9.  Lesotho (145)
  10.  South Sudan (170)
  11.  Eritrea (184)
  12.  Somalia (198)

Tiebreakers

The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order (Regulations Article 14):

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  5. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  6. Goal difference in all group matches;
  7. Goals scored in all group matches;
  8. Away goals scored in all group matches;
  9. Drawing of lots

Group A

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group A
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Morocco Gabon Niger Lesotho
1  Morocco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Gabon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Niger 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Lesotho 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group B

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group B
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Egypt Angola Malawi South Sudan
1  Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Angola 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Malawi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  South Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group C

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group C
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Ivory Coast Ghana The Gambia Somalia
1  Ivory Coast 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Ghana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Gambia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Somalia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group D

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group D
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification South Africa Guinea Kenya Eritrea
1  South Africa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Guinea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Kenya[a] (Q) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON – – — –
4  Eritrea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Kenya already qualified for the AFCON as a host nation.

Group E

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group E
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Democratic Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Sierra Leone Zimbabwe
1  DR Congo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Equatorial Guinea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Sierra Leone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Zimbabwe 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group F

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group F
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Burkina Faso Benin Mauritania Central African Republic
1  Burkina Faso 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Benin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Mauritania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Central African Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group G

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group G
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Cameroon Comoros Namibia Republic of the Congo
1  Cameroon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Comoros 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Namibia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Congo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – - – —
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Source: CAF

Group H

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group H
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Tunisia Uganda Libya Botswana
1  Tunisia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Uganda[a] (Q) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Libya 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Botswana 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Uganda already qualified for the AFCON as a host nation.

Group I

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group I
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Algeria Zambia Togo Burundi
1  Algeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Zambia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Togo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Burundi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group J

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group J
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Senegal Mozambique Sudan Ethiopia
1  Senegal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Mozambique 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Sudan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Ethiopia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group K

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group K
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Mali Cape Verde Rwanda Liberia
1  Mali 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Cape Verde 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Rwanda 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – — –
4  Liberia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF

Group L

Main article: 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group L
More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Nigeria Madagascar Tanzania Guinea-Bissau
1  Nigeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON — – – –
2  Madagascar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – — – –
3  Tanzania[a] (Q) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2027 AFCON – – — –
4  Guinea-Bissau 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – – – —
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Source: CAF
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Tanzania already qualified for the AFCON as a host nation.

Goalscorers

There have been 25 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 2.08 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

References

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