A number of nations from the COSAFA area will start their journey in the direction of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania 2027 when the preliminary qualification spherical begins this week.
Eswatini, Seychelles, Lesotho and Mauritius will all be concerned at this stage of the qualifiers.
Eritrea and Eswatini renew acquaintances in Meknes, Morocco, the place the primary leg might be performed on the Stade d’Honneur on 25 March.
Eswatini will then look to make dwelling benefit depend within the second leg on the Somhlolo Nationwide Stadium in Lobamba on 31 March.
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COSAFA rivals Lesotho and Seychelles will meet on 26 March after they conflict on the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, earlier than dealing with off once more on the identical venue three days later.
On 27 March, Somalia host Mauritius within the first leg at Lalgy Area in Matola, Mozambique earlier than Mauritius host the return encounter on the Nationwide Sports activities Advanced in Saint Pierre on 31 March.
Eswatini will hope to qualify for his or her first finals, having been regulars within the preliminary rounds since their first try in 1986. It has been robust going, although, with solely 10 wins in 73 qualifiers, however there have been indicators in current editions that they’re getting nearer.
They’ve current wins over Zimbabwe (twice) and Madagascar within the African Nations Championship qualifiers, which may be very near their common squad. Additionally they held Cameroon and Angola within the current World Cup qualifiers.
Lesotho are the highest-ranked facet within the preliminary spherical and are coming off a robust displaying within the current World Cup qualifiers. There they held Nigeria to a 1-1 attract West Africa, beat Zimbabwe and likewise drew away in Rwanda.
These are a formidable set of outcomes, displaying they’re a staff on the rise. They’ve but to qualify for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, having gained 14 of their 91 preliminary-stage matches up to now.
Mauritius have discovered the going robust of late however might be hoping a brand new marketing campaign brings with it higher outcomes. They’ve by no means met Somalia earlier than, so it is going to be one thing of an unknown amount, however they ended their World Cup qualifying marketing campaign with a 0-0 draw towards a robust Libya staff to indicate their potential.
They’ve been to the continental finals earlier than, however misplaced all three group video games in Egypt in 1974. That’s their solely look.
Exterior of Eritrea, who haven’t any rating, Seychelles are the lowest-ranked facet within the qualifiers and are available up towards COSAFA rivals Lesotho, who’re the very best.
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They’ve gained 5 of their 42 qualifiers prior to now, and none since a victory over Lesotho within the preliminaries for 2017. The final time they reached the group stage of qualifying was for 2019. They first entered the preliminary competitors in 1990.
TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 Preliminary Spherical Fixtures
Occasions are GMT25/03 – 14h00: Eritrea vs Eswatini – Stade d’Honneur, Meknes31/03 – 14h00: Eswatini vs Eritrea – Somhlolo Nationwide Stadium, Lobamba
26/03 – 14h00: Seychelles vs Lesotho – Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
29/03 – 15h00: Lesotho vs Seychelles – Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
26/03 – 13h00: Djibouti vs South Sudan – Juba Stadium, Juba
29/03 – 13h00: South Sudan vs Djibouti – Juba Stadium, Juba
27/03 – 13h00: Somalia vs Mauritius – Lalgy Area, Matola31/03 – 15h00: Mauritius vs Somalia – Nationwide Sports activities Advanced, Saint Pierre
27/03 – 13h00: Chad vs Burundi – Stade Olympique, N’Djamena31/03 – 13h00: Burundi vs Chad – Stade Intwari, Bujumbura
27/03 – 16h00: Sao Tome e Principe vs Ethiopia – Ben M’Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida31/03 – 13h00: Ethiopia vs Sao Tome e Principe – Dire Dawa Stadium
