For Africa's national teams, the first international break of the 2026-27 season represents far more than merely the opening qualifying exchanges for next year's Africa Cup of Nations.
Bafana Bafana will kick off the second Pitso Mosimane era at Orlando Amstel Arena in Saturday's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Guinea.
Of all the selection challenges South Africa head coach Pitso Mosimane faces, two -- striker and centre-back -- are particularly difficult, and the upcoming international break gives him a chance to test solutions.
Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of Nigeria's opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, after failing to recover from a muscle injury.
Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz said Mohammed Kudus' decision to withdraw from Ghana's squad for this 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying window was made to avoid risking a setback in the Tottenham forward's recovery from injury.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Stanley Nwabali are back in the Nigeria squad, with coach Eric Chelle also recalling defenders Ola Aina and Benjamin Fredrick for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Galatasaray have ruled Victor Osimhen out with a groin injury, with the Nigeria striker expected to spend between two and three weeks on the sidelines, ruling him out of the club's UEFA Champions League opener.
With Pitso Mosimane announced as Hugo Broos's successor, several players overlooked by the Belgian in recent times -- understandably in some cases and controversially in others -- may have a clean slate.
Otto Addo is under pressure as Ghana coach, after a catastrophic AFCON qualifying campaign, but he still has believers who think he is the best person for the job.
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign is in the books, with all 24 qualifiers for next year's biennial competition now confirmed. ESPN present the definitive recap on all things AFCON.
It was a frantic and intense AFCON qualifying group stage, with high-profile sides like Ghana missing the finals and some of the continent's lesser lights looking forward to a shot at Africa's grandest prize.
Losing to Rwanda was not the result Nigeria were expecting in their final game of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, despite having already sealed their place in Morocco.
Benin and Sudan qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, but heavyweights Ghana, Nigeria and Tunisia suffered embarrassing home defeats on the penultimate day of preliminaries for the finals.
The goalkeeper learned of his father's death only after helping the Super Eagles secure AFCON qualification.
Ghana failed to reach the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004 after drawing with Angola 1-1 in qualifying on Friday.
It was not pretty, but Nigeria's Super Eagles did just enough to eke out the point that cemented their place at the 2025 African Cup of Nations, drawing 1-1 with Benin on Thursday.
Goalkeeper star in Ronwen Williams - Tick! However, at the other end of the field, South Africa have yet to fully settle on a permanent answer to: Who can be relied upon to lead the line to continental glory?
| Group A | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lesotho | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Morocco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Niger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group B | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Angola | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Egypt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malawi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Sudan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group C | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Gambia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Somalia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ghana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Group D | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Eritrea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Guinea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group E | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Congo DR | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| Sierra Leone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Group F | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Mauritania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Benin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burkina Faso | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Central African Republic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Group G | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Cameroon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Namibia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| Congo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Comoros | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Group H | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Botswana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Libya | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Uganda | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Group I | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Algeria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burundi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Togo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zambia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group J | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Ethiopia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mozambique | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Senegal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sudan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group K | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Cape Verde | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mali | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rwanda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group L | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Madagascar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nigeria | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tanzania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
