AFCON 2027 QUALIFIERS DRAW: GHANA VS IVORY COAST COULD HAPPEN AGAIN

African football fans could be heading for another heavyweight showdown after the draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers placed giants like Ghana and Ivory Coast on a possible collision course.  The qualifying draw for AFCON 2027 was held in Cairo on Tuesday as nations officially began the road to the tournament that will be hosted jointly by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania under the “Pamoja AFCON” banner. One of the biggest talking points from the draw is the possibility of West African rivals Ghana and Ivory Coast ending up in the same qualification group — a fixture that has produced some of African football’s most iconic moments. The rivalry between the two nations is already loaded with history. Ivory Coast famously defeated Ghana in the 2015 AFCON final after an unforgettable 9-8 penalty shootout, while Ghana remain one of Africa’s most successful football nations with four AFCON titles. For Zimbabwean fans, the draw also serves as a reminder of how competitive African football has become. Traditional giants like Ghana are no longer guaranteed easy qualification after the Black Stars shockingly failed to qualify for AFCON 2025. That failure pushed Ghana into Pot 2 for the 2027 qualifiers, opening the door to difficult matchups against elite nations such as Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, or Nigeria. AFCON 2027 itself will be historic. It will be the first Africa Cup of Nations hosted by three countries and the first AFCON staged in East Africa in over 50 years. Warriors supporters will also be watching closely to see where the Warriors land in the qualifiers, with many hoping the national team can return to the continental stage and compete against Africa’s elite once again. They will face off DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone in Group E. With African football becoming more unpredictable every year, one thing is already certain: the road to AFCON 2027 is going to be brutal. The groups for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers Group A: Morocco, Gabon, Niger, Lesotho Group B: Egypt, Angola, Malawi, South Sudan

Group C: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gambia, Somalia Group D: South Africa, Guinea, Kenya*, Eritrea Group E: DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe Group F: Burkina Faso, Benin, Mauritania, Central African Republic Group G: Cameroon, Comoros, Namibia, Congo Group H: Tunisia, Uganda*, Libya, Botswana Group I: Algeria, Zambia, Togo, Burundi Group J: Senegal, Mozambique, Sudan, Ethiopia Group K: Mali, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Liberia Group L: Nigeria, Madagascar, Tanzania*, Guinea-Bissau The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations Qualification Schedule Matchdays 1 and 2: September 21–October 6, 2026 Matchdays 3 and 4: November 9–17, 2026 Matchdays 5 and 6: March 22–30, 2027