Ghana national football team will battle regional rivals Ivory Coast national football team in a challenging qualifying group for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
The Black Stars were placed in Group C during the official draw held in Cairo after dropping out of the top seeding pot following their failure to qualify for the previous AFCON edition staged in Morocco earlier this year.
Alongside Ghana and Ivory Coast, Group C also features The Gambia national football team and Somalia national football team.
Former Ivory Coast star Max-Alain Gradel, who assisted during the draw ceremony, admitted the group would not be an easy one.
“This group is a difficult group, but we will do everything possible to qualify,” he said after the draw.
The 2027 AFCON tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
Although all three host nations automatically qualify for the tournament, they will still participate in the qualifiers, meaning only one additional team from their groups can secure qualification.
A total of 48 countries have been divided into 12 groups, with the top two teams from each group earning qualification places, except in groups involving host nations.
Qualification Fixtures Timeline
The qualifiers will be played across six matchdays:
- Matchdays 1 & 2: September–October 2026
- Matchdays 3 & 4: November 2026
- Matchdays 5 & 6: March 2027
Nigeria national football team were drawn alongside Madagascar, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau, while South Africa national football team will face Guinea, Kenya and Eritrea.
Record seven-time champions Egypt national football team landed in a group with Angola, Malawi and South Sudan.
Meanwhile, uncertainty still surrounds the official winner of the 2025 AFCON tournament after controversy in the final between Senegal national football team and Morocco national football team.
Although Senegal won the match 1-0 after extra time, CAF later awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory following disciplinary issues involving Senegalese players. The case is currently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.