Key Facts

• What: The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has set matchdays 3 and 4 of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying for 9-17 November 2026.
• Unconfirmed: CAF has not yet published kick-off times or venues; group tables list 11 and 15 November.
• Stakes: 48 teams in 12 groups of four fight for 24 places at the 2027 finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
• Prediction markets: Polymarket, a crypto-based betting exchange, prices Nigeria at 54.5% to win Group L (4:22 a.m. ET, 6 Nov 2026).

Africa’s national teams return to qualifying on 9-17 November, with Nigeria already under pressure after a 3-0 defeat in Guinea-Bissau. The Rio Times AFCON 2027 qualifiers hub will carry fixtures and results as they are confirmed.

CAF, the continent’s football governing body, also set matchdays 5 and 6 for 22-30 March 2027. The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals run from 19 June to 17 July 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The Window and the Dates

CAF’s calendar gives only the window of 9-17 November 2026. Group tables list matchday 3 on 11 November, including Morocco v Niger, Gabon v Lesotho, South Africa v Kenya, Guinea v Eritrea and DR Congo v Sierra Leone, and the return fixtures on 15 November.

Those exact dates are not confirmed at CAF level, and listings elsewhere differ by a day or two. We will update the hub once CAF publishes its official fixture list.

Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, a home ground for Morocco’s national team. File photo.

What Is at Stake

Forty-eight teams play in 12 groups of four for 24 places at the finals. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the three hosts, qualify automatically.

In the three groups that contain a host, only the best-placed team that is not a host advances. That makes those groups unusually tight for everyone else.

Standings Heading Into the Window

After two matchdays, Morocco in Group A, South Africa in Group D and DR Congo in Group E lead their groups with 6 points each. Ivory Coast and Gambia are level on 6 points in Group C, while Egypt and Angola share the lead in Group B on 4 points.

In Group L, Guinea-Bissau has 6 points and Nigeria has 3 after losing 3-0 on Tuesday, 29 September. Madagascar and co-host Tanzania complete that group, and because Tanzania is a host, only one non-host team from it reaches the finals.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket’s Group L winner market, read at 4:22 a.m. ET on 6 November 2026, priced Nigeria at 54.5%, Guinea-Bissau at 35.9%, Madagascar at 4.0% and Tanzania at 2.1%. About US$13,553 had been traded. These are bets, not polls.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What It Means for US Readers

Kick-off times in Africa often fall in the morning or early afternoon on the US East Coast, which is five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time since US clocks went back on 1 November. We have not confirmed a US broadcaster or streaming service for these matchdays.

Readers should check CAF’s official channels once the fixture list is published.

What Is Not Known

CAF’s official kick-off times and venues for matchdays 3 and 4 were not available when we published. The exact dates inside the 9-17 November window remain unconfirmed.

We found no poll by a named institute on the qualifiers, and we could not confirm squad news from the last 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

When are matchdays 3 and 4 of AFCON 2027 qualifying?

CAF has set the window at 9-17 November 2026. Group tables list matchday 3 on 11 November and matchday 4 on 15 November, but CAF has not confirmed those dates.

How many teams qualify for the 2027 finals?

Twenty-four of the 48 teams reach the finals, including co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In host groups, only the best-placed non-host team qualifies.

How can US readers follow the qualifiers?

We have not confirmed a US broadcaster or streamer for these matchdays. The Rio Times hub will carry fixtures, results and updates.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief