Nigeria to Face Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau in Tricky AFCON 2027 Qualification Group

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn against Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania in Group L for the qualification series of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The AFCON draw was held in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday. 

The Eagles are paired against some familiar foes whom they have faced numerous times across several CAF competitions in recent years.

Nigeria faced Guinea-Bissau in the group stage of the 2021 AFCON. They were also opponents during the qualifiers of the 2023 AFCON, and they were paired in the group phase of the competition in Cote d’Ivoire.

The Eagles faced Tanzania in their first group game of the 2025 AFCON, which they won 2-1. Madagascar defeated Nigeria 2-0 in the group stage of the 2019 AFCON.

The 2027 AFCON will be co-hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Tanzania, as co-hosts, will automatically qualify from Group L regardless of their final standing, and they will be joined by only one team from the group.

There are eleven other groups for the qualifiers, with the top two teams from each group making up the 24 teams that will proceed to the competition, billed for June 19 to July 17, 2027

The first two qualifiers will be played between September 21 and October 6, 2026. Matchdays three and four will be played between November 9 and 17, 2026, and the final matchdays will be from March 22-30, 2027.

Nigeria finished third at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco. The Eagles are three-time African champions, and last won the tournament in 2013.