All 48 teams in the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers have now played their opening match, with Algeria, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Nigeria and Mali among the sides to secure victories.
The first round of fixtures was played from Thursday 24 to Saturday 26 September, producing 24 matches and several notable results.
Togo began their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Burundi, while Senegal and Egypt were held to draws by Mozambique and Angola respectively. Senegal were held 1-1 in Maputo, while Egypt drew 0-0 with Angola.
Zimbabwe produced one of the most striking results of the opening round, recovering from two goals down to beat Sierra Leone 3-2.
Guinea-Bissau also made a strong start by winning 2-0 away to Tanzania. Rwanda and Mali both recorded 3-1 victories, giving them early momentum in their respective groups.
The groups containing the co-host nations have a special context, as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are already guaranteed places at the finals.
All the results from matchday one
Group A Morocco 2-0 Gabon Niger 2-1 Lesotho
Group B Malawi 2-1 South Sudan Egypt 0-0 Angola
Group C Cote d’Ivoire 2-0 Ghana Gambia 2-1 Somalia
Group D Kenya 1-1 Eritrea South Africa 2-1 Guinea
Group E DR Congo 2-0 Equatorial Guinea Sierra Leone 2-3 Zimbabwe
Group F Mauritania 3-1 Central African Republic Burkina Faso 1-1 Benin
Group G Namibia 1-0 Congo Cameroon 3-1 Comoros
Group H Libya 2-2 Botswana Tunisia 1-1 Uganda
Group I Togo 1-0 Burundi Algeria 3-1 Zambia
Group J Sudan 1-0 Ethiopia Mozambique 1-1 Senegal
Group K Rwanda 3-1 Liberia Mali 3-1 Cape Verde
Group L Tanzania 0-2 Guinea-Bissau Nigeria 2-1 Madagascar