Malawi opened their AFCON 2027 campaign with a 2-1 win over South Sudan in Lilongwe on 25 September 2026. Next comes Angola away on 6 October, and Egypt are also in Group B. Anyone checking the football odds and upcoming fixtures for this window should remember that Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying has a long record of undoing the favourites. Here are the results that did it most dramatically, counting down to the biggeast.
Gabon needed a win in Bujumbura on 23 March 2019. Cedric Amissi put Burundi ahead in the 75th minute, and an Omar Ngandu own goal brought Gabon level, but the 1-1 draw was enough for the hosts. Burundi reached their first finals. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, then at Arsenal, stayed at home. Botswana had never played at a finals. They beat Tunisia home and away, and on 26 March 2011 became the first team to qualify for the 2012 tournament.
Tunisia, champions only seven years earlier, still went through as runners-up, but Botswana won the five-team group. At the finals they lost all three games, but the qualifying campaign had already made history. Uganda needed only a point at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on 29 March 2021. Richard Mbulu headed Malawi in front after 15 minutes, and the Flames defended the lead for the rest of the game.
The 1-0 win lifted Malawi above the Cranes into second place behind Burkina Faso. It sent them to their third finals, after 1984 and 2010, where they reached the knockout rounds for the first time. Nigeria led Guinea 2-1 in Abuja on 8 October 2011 through second-half goals from Victor Obinna and Ikechukwu Uche. Ibrahima Traore equalised in stoppage time. The 2-2 draw meant Nigeria failed to qualify for the first time since 1986. Two of their three wins