Ghana, Nigeria Suffer AFCON Qualifier Shockers

Former champions Ghana and Nigeria suffered humiliating defeats alongside World Cup surprise package Cape Verde on Tuesday as shock results dominated the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

Playing at home in Accra, Ghana squandered a two-goal lead to drop a 4-2 decision to Gambia in Group C, propelled by a second-half brace from Ebrima Colley.

Nigeria endured an even steeper downfall in Group L, falling 3-0 on the road against a Guinea-Bissau squad ranked 106 places below them.

Cape Verde also surrendered an early advantage at home in Group K, falling 2-1 to Rwanda, while two-time champions Algeria rallied from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw in Burundi.

Defenders and goalkeepers across the continent struggled to contain underdog attacks throughout the round.

Lacking injured star forward Victor Osimhen, Nigeria offered little resistance as Franculino Djú, Mama Baldé, and substitute Álvaro Djaló capitalised on defensive lapses to seal Guinea-Bissau’s historic victory over the Super Eagles.

In Praia, Benchimol put Cape Verde ahead early, but Claude Niyomugabo and Élie Tatou struck on either side of halftime to keep Rwanda’s qualifying campaign perfect.

Ghana now sit at the bottom of Group C under head coach Carlos Queiroz after dropping consecutive matches to the Ivory Coast and Gambia.

Top continental contenders enjoyed far more predictable outings elsewhere on matchday two.

Egypt cruised to a 5-0 away victory against South Sudan despite resting captain Mohamed Salah over artificial turf injury concerns.

Morocco claimed a 2-0 road win over Lesotho, while an Ibrahim Mbaye strike secured a 1-0 away victory for Senegal against Ethiopia—handing newly appointed head coach Patrick Vieira his first win on the international bench.

Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast relied on late goals from Yann Gboho and Bazoumana Touré to defeat Somalia 2-0.