Guinea seek back-to-back wins as Eritrea visit Conakry in AFCON 2027 qualifying

Guinea will be aiming to secure a second successive victory in the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers when they face Eritrea in Conakry on Thursday.

The Group D meeting will take place at the Stade du 28 Septembre from 17:00 GMT, or 18:00 in France. RTG is expected to broadcast the match, while Canal+ Afrique subscribers can watch it on the Sport 5 channel. No broadcaster has been scheduled to show the game in France.

Guinea missed the 2025 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations and began this qualifying campaign with a 2-1 defeat by South Africa. They responded by beating Kenya 1-0 at home, with Serhou Guirassy scoring the only goal.

Guirassy, however, is unavailable this month, leaving Guinea under pressure to take maximum points against the perceived outsiders of the group. With Kenya among the host nations for the next tournament, Group D contains only one qualifying place.

The Syli National are currently three points behind leaders South Africa and cannot afford to allow that gap to widen. Eritrea appear to offer an opportunity to close the distance, with the Red Sea Camels ranked 183rd in the Fifa rankings, 101 places below Guinea.

Eritrea had not appeared in the group stage of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying for 19 years before this campaign. They made a strong impression in their opening match by holding Kenya to a 1-1 draw, but were then beaten 5-0 by South Africa.

Guinea will nevertheless be without several players for the fixture. Alongside Guirassy, Soumaila Sylla, Saidou Sow, Lamine Diaby Fadiga and Ilaix Moriba have also been ruled out.

Goalkeeper Sekou Salifou Sylla of Horoya AC, defensive midfielder Mohamed Cherif Haidara of Sønderjysk Elitesport in Denmark, and forwards Bertin Simitri Jacquesson of Oakland Roots in the United States and Kerfalla Dada Cissoko of Rodina Moscow in Russia are among those called up as replacements.

The preparations have also been overshadowed by tensions surrounding the national team. Naby Keita’s agent criticised manager Paulo Duarte’s approach after the midfielder was left out of the squad.

Duarte, meanwhile, said Ilaix Moriba had declined to join the camp because he wanted to wear the number 10 shirt, which belongs to Alioune Badara Balde.