2027 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers: Egypt Begins Ali Maher Era as Morocco Seeks to Seal Qualification

Egypt, under new coach Ali Maher, faces Malawi in the third and fourth rounds of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, while Morocco seeks to seal qualification. Tunisia and Libya meet in two crucial Group Eight fixtures. The round also features matches involving Algeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Egypt faces Malawi in Cairo on Friday, then in Lilongwe on Tuesday, after Maher was appointed following the dismissal of Hossam Hassan. His squad includes Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, Zamalek duo Mahmoud Hamdy and Mohamed Shehata, Mahmoud Hassan and Nasser Maher. He has also called up Modern Sport striker Mahmoud Mamdouh for the first time. Egypt leads Group Two with four points after drawing with Angola and beating South Sudan by five goals to nil; the two teams meet twice.

Morocco plays Niger in Casablanca on Friday, then in Rabat on Tuesday, aiming to collect six points and secure early qualification. It leads Group One with six points, while Gabon and Niger have three points each, and Lesotho have no points. Coach Mohamed Ouahbi's squad will be without Ismael Saibari and Azzedine Ounahi, while Youssef En-Nesyri and Reda Belahyane have returned, and Ayoub Oufkir has been called up for the first time. Ivory Coast, South Africa and DR Congo, all of whom won in the previous two rounds, are also seeking to secure qualification.

Algeria faces Togo in Tizi Ouzou on Saturday, then in Lomé on Tuesday, seeking to improve its position in Group Nine. The report said Algeria had lost the services of Bachir Belloumi, Jaouen Hadjam and Hicham Boudaoui through injury. Luca Zidane and Rayan Aït-Nouri were also left out, while Fahem Benaïssa Yahia has joined the squad. Algeria has four points, compared with three each for Zambia and Togo and one for Burundi.

Tunisia and Libya meet in Sfax on Friday, then in Tripoli on Tuesday. Neither has won in the previous two rounds. Uganda leads Group Eight with four points, followed by Botswana on two, then Tunisia and Libya on two and one respectively. Tunisia will be without several players through injury, including Hazem Mastouri and Hannibal Mejbri, while coach Mouine Chaabani has not called up Elias Achouri, Yan Valery or Hamza Rafia. Libya goes into the two matches under pressure because of its need for points, and its squad includes players who have previously played professionally in Tunisia.

Senegal meets Sudan in Dakar on Thursday in Group Ten, while Ivory Coast faces The Gambia, with both teams on six points. Ghana plays Somalia.