The opening matchday of the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers produced a mix of comebacks, shocks and strong starts, the Confederation of African Football reported via the Punch. Games were played from September 24 to 26.
Nigeria recovered from an early deficit to beat Madagascar 2-1 in Group L. Ehsan Kari put Madagascar ahead in the 16th minute, George Ilenikhena levelled in first-half stoppage time, and substitute Moses Usor completed the turnaround in the 65th minute, Punch reported, citing CAF. Nigeria sit on three points and are level with Guinea-Bissau ahead of their meeting on Tuesday.
Guinea-Bissau recorded a notable away win, beating co-hosts Tanzania 2-0 in the same group. Franculino Dj-fa opened the scoring in the 33rd minute and Mama Bald-e9 added a second in the 58th, the report said. Tanzania are already qualified for the 2027 tournament as co-hosts, meaning Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and Madagascar will compete for the remaining place in Group L.
Zimbabwe staged a dramatic comeback to beat Sierra Leone 3-2. Sierra Leone led 2-0 through Alie Conteh and Sallieu Tarawallie, but Marshall Munetsi pulled one back in the 72nd minute, Tawanda Chirewa equalised four minutes later, and Munetsi completed the turnaround with a second late goal in the 88th minute, Punch said.
Several other established teams began with positive results. Morocco beat Gabon 2-0, Algeria defeated Zambia 3-1, Cameroon won 3-1 against Comoros, and Mauritania beat the Central African Republic 3-1, the report stated. Rwanda and Mali each opened with 3-1 victories in Group K, against Liberia and Cape Verde respectively.
Seven-time champions Egypt were held to a goalless draw by Angola in Cairo. Egypt had a goal ruled out for offside, and Angola secured a valuable point, Punch reported. Senegal drew 1-1 with Mozambique in Patrick Vieira-e9s first competitive match as Senegal coach, Nicolas Jackson scoring for Senegal and Geny Catamo equalising in stoppage time.
C-f4te d-e2Ivoire began Herv-e9 Renard-e2s second spell with a 2-0 win over Ghana in Bouak-e9, Malick Yalcouy-e9 and Franck Kessi-e9 finding the net. In Group D, South Africa opened with a 2-1 victory over Guinea in Pitso Mosimane-e2s first match back in charge, while Kenya and Eritrea drew 1-1.
Punch said the second round of qualifying fixtures is scheduled to start on September 28. The results leave a number of groups finely poised as teams prepare for the next set of matches.
Source: Punch, quoting the Confederation of African Football.
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