Ghana and Nigeria suffer heavy AFCON 2027 qualifying defeats

Ghana and Nigeria suffered damaging defeats in Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifying matches played late Tuesday, while Algeria recovered from an early two-goal deficit to draw with Burundi.

Ghana led The Gambia 2-0 in Accra but eventually lost 4-2. Ernest Nuamah and Felix Afena-Gyan scored Ghana’s goals, putting the Black Stars two goals ahead after 33 minutes.

The Gambia responded through Muhammed Badamosi, who converted a penalty, and Omar Colley. Ebrima Colley then scored twice as the visitors completed the turnaround.

Angry Ghana supporters threw bottles onto the pitch during the closing stages, according to the match report. The result has also increased pressure on Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz.

Nigeria beaten in Guinea-Bissau

Nigeria were also heavily beaten away from home, losing 3-0 to Guinea-Bissau despite naming seven Premier League players in their starting lineup.

Franculino Dju, Mama Balde and Alvaro Djalo scored for Guinea-Bissau. The result added to a difficult group of outcomes for leading African teams during the qualifying programme.

In Bujumbura, Algeria fell 2-0 behind to Burundi within the opening 12 minutes before fighting back to secure a draw. Mohamed Belloumi and Adil Boulbina were Algeria’s scorers.

Cape Verde also suffered a home setback, losing 2-1 to Rwanda in Praia. Rwanda came from behind, with Elie Iradukunda scoring the decisive goal.

Egypt, Morocco and Senegal record wins

Egypt produced one of the biggest victories of the round, defeating South Sudan 5-0 away from home. Omar Marmoush scored twice, while Mostafa Zico, Ibrahim Adel and Hamza Abdelkarim also found the net.

Morocco defeated Lesotho 2-0 in Bloemfontein, with Brahim Diaz and Azzedine Ounahi scoring. The victory moved Morocco to the top of Group A. The match was played in South Africa because Lesotho did not have a stadium meeting international standards.

Senegal won 1-0 away against Ethiopia through Ibrahim Mbaye’s goal after 11 minutes. It was the first victory for new coach Patrick Vieira.

Other results

Mozambique defeated Sudan 4-1 in Maputo, with Chamito scoring twice, and moved top of Group J on goal difference. Mali won 1-0 away to Liberia, while Cameroon drew 1-1 with Congo in Brazzaville.

Comoros beat Namibia 1-0 in Moroni after Benjaloud Youssef scored early in the second half. Zambia defeated Togo 2-0 in Ndola in a match interrupted for 20 minutes by a first-half power failure.

Benin edged Mauritania 2-1, with Rodolfo Aloko scoring both of Benin’s goals. Uganda defeated Libya 1-0 at home, with debutant Arnold Vula providing the winning goal.

The matches formed part of the preliminaries for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals, which are scheduled to be cohosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.