Morocco and DR Congo lead early Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifying race

Morocco and DR Congo are among the teams to have made perfect starts to qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, while Ghana and Cape Verde are already six points adrift after losing their opening two matches.

The qualifying campaign will determine the 24 teams who compete at the finals, which are scheduled to take place from 19 June to 17 July 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

After two rounds of fixtures, Cote d’Ivoire and Gambia, along with Mali and Rwanda, have already opened up a six-point advantage over the teams sitting third in their respective groups.

There are still four rounds to play, in November 2026 and March 2027, so the standings remain capable of changing significantly.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were appointed as co-hosts and have already secured their places at the tournament. They are nevertheless taking part in qualifying, allowing them to play official matches in their respective groups.

A total of 48 teams are involved in the group stage. They have been divided into 12 groups of four, following a preliminary round contested by 12 of the lowest-ranked nations. The six preliminary-round winners joined the 42 teams who entered the group stage directly.

Each team plays six matches in a mini-league format, facing every other side home and away. That gives every nation three home games and three away fixtures.

In the nine groups without a host nation, the top two teams qualify for the finals. Those groups are A, B, C, E, F, G, I, J and K.

The presence of the three hosts reduces the number of qualifying places in their groups. Kenya are in Group D with South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea; Uganda are in Group H alongside Tunisia, Libya and Botswana; and Tanzania are in Group L with Nigeria, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.

As the hosts are already qualified, only one additional team can progress from each of those three groups. The highest-ranked team among the other three nations in each group will take that place. Results against the host nation will count towards the standings, despite earlier rumours suggesting otherwise.

Teams are initially ordered by points, with three awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a defeat. A side can therefore collect a maximum of 18 points across the six matchdays.

If two teams finish level, CAF first uses their head-to-head record: points gained in those matches, goal difference, goals scored and away goals.

Where more than two teams are tied, the head-to-head criteria are applied among all the teams involved. If two remain level, those same criteria are then reassessed only across their matches. If they still cannot be separated, overall goal difference, total goals scored and away goals across the group are considered. A draw conducted by CAF is the final tiebreaker.