Following the conclusion of Sunday’s pivotal second-leg preliminary fixtures, the roadmap for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has begun to take shape, with at least two nations officially progressing to the group stage qualification phase. The tournament, which is set to be co-hosted by the East African trio of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, has seen its first wave of preliminary contenders filtered through intense home-and-away encounters.
Lesotho successfully navigated a tense standoff against Seychelles to book their spot in the next round. After a scoreless stalemate in the opening leg, the return match saw Seychelles strike first through Brandon Labrosse. However, Lesotho staged a resilient comeback, leveling the score via Lebohang Lesako before Motebang Sera produced a dramatic late winner to seal a 2-1 victory.
In a contrasting path to advancement, South Sudan also confirmed their qualification despite suffering a surprising 1-0 home defeat to Djibouti at an empty Juba Stadium on Sunday. The “Bright Stars” relied heavily on their dominant 4-0 performance from the first leg, ultimately advancing with a comfortable 4-1 aggregate scoreline.
The preliminary stage continues this Tuesday with four remaining second-leg matches. Eritrea travels to Eswatini holding a two-goal advantage, while Mauritius and Somalia remain on even footing following a goalled draw in their initial meeting. Elsewhere, Burundi carries a formidable 4-0 lead into their clash with Chad, and Ethiopia looks to defend a 3-0 cushion against Sao Tome and Principe after their first-leg triumph in El Jadida, Morocco.
The successful teams from these ties will move forward to join the continent’s elite, highest-ranked nations in the primary qualifying groups. As designated hosts, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda have already been granted automatic berths in the final tournament.
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