By Teddy Nwanunobi
The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers produced several notable results, including emphatic victories, hard-fought draws, and impressive away performances across the continent, as the Matchday Two commenced on Tuesday.
It also witnessed major upsets, with two West African powerhouses, Nigeria and Ghana, tasting heavy defeats in their respective group outings.
In Group L, the Super Eagles were beaten 3-0 by Guinea-Bissau at the Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro, while Ghana’s Black Stars lost 4-2 to Gambia in their Group C encounter in Accra.
Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau had both won their opening games 2-1 and 2-0 against Madagascar and Tanzania, respectively, on Matchday 1.
Nigeria were looking forward to getting a win or, at least, a draw to have a chance of making things easier for them before the Matchdays Three and Four in November, when they will have back-to-back games with one of the tournament’s co-hosts, Tanzania.
But Guinea-Bissau produced a clinical display to defeat the three-time African champions 3-0, with the hosts taking the lead in the 15th minute after capitalising on defensive lapses to go into the break with a 1-0 advantage.
Nigeria pushed forward after the restart in search of an equaliser, but Guinea-Bissau exploited the spaces behind the defence to score twice more.
The victory lifted Guinea-Bissau to the top of Group L with six points, while Nigeria’s qualification hopes suffered another setback. In the other Group L encounter, Madagascar and Tanzania drew 1-1.
Ghana’s difficult qualifying campaign continued in Accra, with a thrilling 4-2 home defeat to Gambia in Group C.
The match began at a frenetic pace, with both teams scoring twice in an action-packed first half.
Gambia then dominated the second half, scoring two unanswered goals to secure a memorable away victory.
The result leaves Ghana without a win in the qualifiers and puts added pressure on the Black Stars in their remaining group matches.
From Group B, Egypt recorded the day’s biggest win, defeating South Sudan 5-0 in Juba after recovering from their opening draw against Angola. Omar Marmoush scored twice as the Pharaohs secured a convincing victory to strengthen their position in the qualifying campaign.
Morocco maintained their perfect start with a 2-0 away victory, controlling proceedings to move to six points at the top of Group A.
The Teranga Lions of Senegal secured an important away victory in Group J, through Ibrahim Mbaye’s early goal. The result (Ethiopia 0-1 Senegal) marked Senegal’s first official victory under head coach Patrick Vieira.
Also in Group J, Mozambique produced a strong second-half performance, scoring four times to defeat Sudan 4-1 at home and boost their qualification hopes.
In Group I, Algeria recovered from an early setback against Burundi to earn a 2-2 draw, preserving their unbeaten record in the qualifiers.
Comoros secured their first victory of the campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Namibia in Group G.