AFCON 2027 Qualifying Matchday 2: Egypt Hit Five, Gambia Shock Ghana and Kenya Fall Short

Matchday 2 of the African qualifiers was far less predictable than the European side of the international window.

Egypt scored five without Mohamed Salah, Morocco collected another comfortable win and Senegal finally got three points under Patrick Vieira. But there were also major upsets: Ghana blew a 2–0 lead at home against Gambia, while Algeria had to fight back after conceding twice in the opening 12 minutes.

Time to return to our pre-match preview and see how the key 888STARZ lines played out.

South Sudan 0–5 Egypt: no Salah, no problem

Before kick-off, the big talking point was not who the favourite was, but Mohamed Salah’s absence. Egypt chose not to risk their captain on the artificial surface in Juba.

Egypt were huge favourites with 888STARZ at 1.19 to win. We also highlighted the more cautious South Sudan +2 handicap at 1.62.

That caution did not pay off.

Mostafa Ziko opened the scoring before half-time, and Egypt ran away with it after the break. Omar Marmoush scored twice, while Ibrahim Adel and 18-year-old Hamza Abdelkarim also found the net.

0–5 — Egypt at 1.19 landed comfortably, while South Sudan +2 at 1.62 did not.

Ghana 2–4 Gambia: the 1.63 favourite crashes hard

The market had Ghana as clear favourites before kick-off.

888STARZ line: Ghana 1.63, draw 3.68, Gambia 5.17.

For the first half-hour, that looked completely justified.

Ernest Nuamah converted a penalty before Felix Afena-Gyan made it 2–0. Ghana looked in complete control.

Then everything changed.

Muhammed Badamosi and Omar Colley levelled before half-time. Ebrima Colley put Gambia ahead after the break and added another in stoppage time.

2–4 — instead of Ghana at 1.63, Gambia delivered at 5.17. One of the biggest upsets of the round.

Ethiopia 0–1 Senegal: the favourites do just enough

After drawing 1–1 with Mozambique, Senegal needed a win.

888STARZ line: Ethiopia 5.12, draw 3.80, Senegal 1.61.

There was no show, but there did not need to be.

Nicolas Jackson found Ibrahim Mbaye in the 11th minute, and that proved to be the only goal of the game.

Patrick Vieira’s side protected the lead from there.

0–1 — Senegal at 1.61 lands. They move to four points after two games.

Lesotho 0–2 Morocco: 1.03 and no surprises

This was the clearest favourite in our preview.

888STARZ line: Lesotho 55.00, draw 13.50, Morocco 1.03.

Lesotho resisted for most of the first half, but Brahim Díaz finally broke through just before the interval.

The second goal came in the 82nd minute, with Sofyan Rahimi setting up Azzedine Ounahi to finish the job.

0–2 — Morocco make it two wins from two, and the 1.03 favourite delivers.

After two rounds, Morocco have six points, four goals scored and none conceded.

Burundi 2–2 Algeria: the favourites survive a nightmare start

The market strongly favoured Algeria here too.

888STARZ had Algeria at 1.27, the draw at 5.10 and Burundi at 10.50.

Twelve minutes in, those numbers looked almost meaningless.

Farès Chaïbi scored an own goal before Jean Girumugisha made it 2–0.

Algeria pulled one back before the break through Mohamed El Amine Belloumi, and Adil Boulbina equalised in the 63rd minute.

But the winner never came.

2–2 — Algeria at 1.27 fails, while the pre-match draw price of 5.10 lands.

Guinea 1–0 Kenya: Guirassy leaves Harambee Stars empty-handed

Kenya remained a separate focus for us because of our Kenya GEO.

After a 1–1 draw with Eritrea, Harambee Stars travelled to Conakry looking for their first win, while Guinea were trying to respond to an opening defeat against South Africa.

Our pre-match angle was Kenya double chance at 1.88 with 888STARZ.

But the hosts had the edge.

Serhou Guirassy first hit the woodwork from a free-kick before finally scoring in the 32nd minute. Kenya had chances to respond, especially after Ryan Ogam and Timothy Ouma came on, but Mohamed Camara kept a clean sheet.

1–0 — Kenya X2 at 1.88 does not land.

Kenya remain on one point after two games, although as one of the AFCON 2027 co-hosts they are already guaranteed a place at the finals.

Nigeria 0–3 Guinea-Bissau: another Matchday 2 bombshell

Even Ghana’s defeat was not the only major shock of the round.

Guinea-Bissau went to Nigeria and scored three without reply.

Franculino opened the scoring in the 15th minute, Mama Baldé doubled the lead after the break and Álvaro Djaló added a third in stoppage time.

0–3 — Guinea-Bissau remain perfect after two games, while Nigeria suffer one of the heaviest home defeats of the international window.

How the key 888STARZ lines performed

In Europe, most of the favourites did exactly what the market expected. Africa gave us a reminder that things rarely stay that simple.

Egypt and Morocco handled their business, Senegal only needed one goal, Ghana somehow turned a 2–0 lead into a 2–4 defeat, Algeria barely escaped in Bujumbura and Nigeria conceded three at home to Guinea-Bissau.

After just two rounds, the qualifying picture already has several unexpected leaders — and the November fixtures now look even more important.