The qualification campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations is entering a crucial phase following the opening two rounds of fixtures in September and October.

Following the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will stage the 2027 tournament in a summer window from June 19 to July 17, with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda serving as co-hosts.

With 48 nations competing across 12 qualification groups, this Striver.Football live-updating tracker will cover the format, latest scores, group standings and key international match windows.

AFCON 2027 qualifying format: How teams reach the finals

The Preliminary Round: Twelve lower-ranked nations contested a two-legged preliminary round, with the six winners – Lesotho, Burundi, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea – advancing to the main qualifying group stage.

The Group Stage: The 48 teams were divided into 12 groups of four, with each nation playing the others home and away. The top two teams in most groups will qualify for the finals.

However, in Groups D, H and L, which contain co-hosts Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, only the highest-placed team apart from the host will join the automatically qualified nation.

AFCON 2027 qualifying: Group standings after two games

Group A
Morocco - 6 pts
Gabon -  3 pts
Niger -  3 pts
Lesotho - 0 pts

Group B
Egypt - 4 pts
Angola - 4 pts
Malawi - 3 pts
South Sudan - 0 pts

Group C
Ivory Coast - 6 pts
Gambia - 6 pts
Somalia - 0 pts
Ghana - 0 pts

Group D
South Africa - 6 pts
Guinea - 3 pts
Kenya - 1 pt
Eritrea - 1 pt

Group E
DR Congo -  6 pts
Zimbabwe - 3 pts
Equatorial Guinea - 3 pts
Sierra Leone -  0 pts

Group F
Benin - 4 pts
Burkina Faso - 4 pts
Mauritania - 3 pts
Central African Republic - 0 pts

Group G
Cameroon - 4 pts
Comoros - 3 pts
Namibia - 3 pts
Congo - 1 pt

Group H
Uganda - 4 pts
Botswana - 2 pts
Tunisia - 2 pts
Libya - 1 pt

Group I
Algeria - 4 pts
Zambia - 3 pts
Togo - 3 pts
Burundi - 1 pt

Group J
Mozambique - 4 pts
Senegal - 4 pts
Sudan - 3 pts
Ethiopia - 0 pts

Group K
Rwanda - 6 pts
Mali - 6 pts
Cape Verde - 0 pts
Liberia - 0 pts

Group L
Guinea-Bissau - 6 pts
Nigeria - 3 pts
Madagascar - 1 pt
Tanzania - 1 pt

AFCON 2027 qualifying: November 2026 fixtures

The qualification campaign resumes with Matchdays 3 and 4 between November 12 and 17, 2026, as teams contest two fixtures during the international window.

Thursday, November 12

Ghana vs. Somalia
DR Congo vs. Sierra Leone
Madagascar vs. Guinea-Bissau
Equatorial Guinea vs. Zimbabwe
Guinea vs. Eritrea
Benin vs. Central African Republic
Cote d'Ivoire vs. Gambia
Senegal vs. Sudan
Cameroon vs. Namibia

Friday, November 13

Mozambique vs. Ethiopia
Comoros vs. Congo
Zambia vs. Burundi
Gabon vs. Lesotho
Cabo Verde vs. Liberia
Tunisia vs. Libya
South Africa vs. Kenya
Burkina Faso vs. Mauritania
Nigeria vs. Tanzania
Egypt vs. Malawi
Mali vs. Rwanda
Morocco vs. Niger

Saturday, November 14

Uganda vs. Botswana
Angola vs. South Sudan
Algeria vs. Togo

Monday, November 16

Zimbabwe vs. Equatorial Guinea
Namibia vs. Cameroon
Sudan vs. Senegal
Somalia vs. Ghana
Central African Republic vs. Benin
Eritrea vs. Guinea

Tuesday, November 17

Tanzania vs. Nigeria
Malawi vs. Egypt
Burundi vs. Zambia
Gambia vs. Cote d'Ivoire
Guinea-Bissau vs. Madagascar
Botswana vs. Uganda
Rwanda vs. Mali
Liberia vs. Cabo Verde
Lesotho vs. Gabon
South Sudan vs. Angola
Ethiopia vs. Mozambique
Sierra Leone vs. DR Congo
Togo vs. Algeria
Libya vs. Tunisia
Kenya vs. South Africa
Congo vs. Comoros
Mauritania vs. Burkina Faso
Niger vs. Morocco

AFCON 2027 qualifying: Final fixtures in March 2027

March 25-27, 2027

Angola vs. Egypt
Benin vs. Burkina Faso
Botswana vs. Libya
Burundi vs. Togo
Cape Verde vs. Mali
Central African Republic vs. Mauritania
Comoros vs. Namibia
Equatorial Guinea vs. DR Congo
Eritrea vs. Kenya
Ethiopia vs. Sudan
Gabon vs. Morocco
Ghana vs. Ivory Coast
Guinea vs. South Africa
Guinea-Bissau vs. Tanzania
Lesotho vs. Niger
Liberia vs. Rwanda
Madagascar vs. Nigeria
Senegal vs. Mozambique
Somalia vs. Gambia
South Sudan vs. Malawi
Uganda vs. Tunisia
Zambia vs. Algeria
Zimbabwe vs. Sierra Leone

March 28-31 2027

Algeria vs. Burundi
Botswana vs. Tunisia
Burkina Faso vs. Central African Republic
Cameroon vs. Congo
DR Congo vs. Zimbabwe
Egypt vs. South Sudan
Gambia vs. Ghana
Ivory Coast vs. Somalia
Kenya vs. Guinea
Libya vs. Uganda
Malawi vs. Angola
Mali vs. Liberia
Mauritania vs. Benin
Morocco vs. Lesotho
Namibia vs. Comoros
Niger vs. Gabon
Nigeria vs. Guinea-Bissau
Rwanda vs. Cape Verde
Senegal vs. Ethiopia
Sierra Leone vs. Equatorial Guinea
South Africa vs. Eritrea
Sudan vs. Mozambique
Tanzania vs. Madagascar
Togo vs. Zambia

What happens next in AFCON 2027 qualifying?

The November fixtures will provide a clearer picture of which nations are best placed to reach the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. With the co-hosts already guaranteed places at the finals, the remaining teams will be fighting for the available qualification spots across all 12 groups.

The final two matchdays will take place in March 2027, when the 24-team tournament line-up will be confirmed.