AFCON 2027 Qualifying Matchday 3 Preview: South Africa vs Kenya, Group Leaders Clash in Abidjan and Egypt Look to Build Momentum

The first two rounds of African qualifying have already reminded us of one thing: calm games do not stay calm for long here.

Ghana somehow turned a 2–0 lead into a 4–2 defeat against Gambia, Nigeria conceded three unanswered goals to Guinea-Bissau, while Morocco and South Africa are still perfect.

The race resumes in November. 888STARZ picks out five Matchday 3 fixtures that are genuinely worth watching.

South Africa vs Kenya: the key game for our Kenya focus

This qualifying campaign is a little different for Kenya.

Harambee Stars are already guaranteed a place at AFCON 2027 as one of the tournament hosts, but the opening two matches showed that Benny McCarthy still has plenty of work to do.

Kenya first drew 1–1 with Eritrea at home before losing 1–0 to Guinea. One point and just one goal scored after two games.

South Africa have had the opposite start.

Pitso Mosimane’s side opened with a 2–1 win over Guinea before smashing Eritrea 5–0. Six points and seven goals scored — Bafana Bafana currently look like the strongest team in the group.

And for South Africa, this game carries real competitive weight. Because Kenya qualify automatically, only the best of the other three teams in the group will advance.

For Kenya, meanwhile, this is an excellent test against a side that has looked far more convincing than the rest of the group so far.

Our 888STARZ line angle: South Africa to win.

Egypt vs Malawi: five goals later, Egypt want more

Egypt had a difficult opening round, drawing 0–0 with Angola at home.

But in Matchday 2, Hossam Hassan’s side made up for it in emphatic fashion.

5–0 against South Sudan.

Omar Marmoush scored twice, and Egypt finally showed the gulf in quality that had been expected from them since the start of qualifying.

Now the opposition gets tougher.

Malawi opened their campaign with a 2–1 win over South Sudan, while Egypt know this opponent well from the previous qualifying cycle. In 2023, the Pharaohs won both head-to-head meetings — 2–0 and 4–0.

After scoring five in Juba, the question is no longer simply whether Egypt can win.

It will be more interesting to see whether they can completely control another game from start to finish.

Our 888STARZ line angle: Egypt to win.

Morocco vs Niger: perfect start against a team that can bite

Morocco have made no mistakes so far.

First came a 2–0 win over Gabon. Then another 2–0 victory, this time away to Lesotho.

Six points, four goals scored and none conceded.

Niger also started well with a 2–1 win over Lesotho, but followed that up with a 2–0 defeat against Gabon.

And there is another detail the visitors will not enjoy.

Morocco and Niger met in World Cup qualifying not long ago. In September 2025, Morocco won 5–0.

At home, they will once again be overwhelming favourites.

Our 888STARZ line angle: Morocco to win.

Côte d’Ivoire vs Gambia: this is where things get serious

From a table perspective, this may be the most interesting game of Matchday 3.

Both teams have six points from six.

Côte d’Ivoire opened with a 2–0 win over Ghana, then beat Somalia by the same scoreline. Two games, two clean sheets.

But Gambia have become one of the stories of qualifying.

After beating Somalia 2–1, they travelled to Accra, went 2–0 down to Ghana inside 33 minutes — and still came back to win 4–2.

Four unanswered goals after such a poor start are difficult to dismiss as a fluke.

Côte d’Ivoire have the bigger names and home advantage, but after what Gambia did in Ghana, treating this as a routine home win suddenly looks dangerous.

Our 888STARZ line angle: Côte d’Ivoire to win.

Nigeria vs Tanzania: after 0–3, there are no excuses left

Nigeria suffered one of the most painful results of the opening two rounds.

The start was fine — a 2–1 win over Madagascar.

Then came a 3–0 home defeat to Guinea-Bissau.

Guinea-Bissau scored three, moved to six points from six and immediately put Nigeria under pressure in a group where, because Tanzania qualify automatically, only the best of the remaining teams will earn a place at the finals.

Tanzania, meanwhile, started with a 2–0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau and a 1–1 draw with Madagascar.

That is why simply “playing better” is no longer enough for Nigeria at home.

They need three points.

And the last meeting between these teams is still fresh: Nigeria beat Tanzania 2–1 at AFCON 2025.

Our 888STARZ line angle: Nigeria to win.

Key Matchday 3 fixtures

Matchday 3 already feels very different from the start of qualifying.

South Africa and Morocco can extend their perfect runs. Côte d’Ivoire and Gambia will finally go head-to-head to see who really controls Group C. Nigeria need an immediate response after their shocking 3–0 defeat.

For Kenya, the game against Bafana Bafana is a chance to test themselves against one of the most convincing teams of the opening two rounds, long before their home AFCON 2027 campaign begins.