Zimbabwe Stun Sierra Leone, Uganda Gains Point, As Cameroon Collects in AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Kick Off
Zimbabwe produced the standout result of Thursday’s opening night of TotalEnergies AFCON 2027 qualifiers, staging a remarkable fightback from two goals down to beat Sierra Leone 3-2 — the kind of statement win that instantly puts the rest of Group E on notice.
Sierra Leone looked firmly in control after Alie Conteh fired them ahead inside seven minutes, with Sallieu Tarawallie doubling the lead just before the half-hour mark. At the break, the Warriors looked dead and buried.
What followed was pure resilience. Marshall Munetsi pulled one back in the 72nd minute, before Tawanda Chirewa leveled things up just four minutes later to breathe fresh life into the contest. Then, with the game delicately poised, Munetsi struck again two minutes from time to complete an astonishing turnaround and hand Zimbabwe all three points.
It’s a brutal result for Sierra Leone to stomach — surrendering a two-goal cushion and, with it, control of their own opening qualifier — but for Zimbabwe, it’s the kind of never-say-die display that can define a campaign.
Renard Begins Second Elephants Reign in Style
Elsewhere, Côte d’Ivoire underlined their status as Group C favourites with a professional 2-0 win over a heavily-weakened Ghana side at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké — the perfect start for returning coach Hervé Renard.
Malick Yalcouyé, one of eight fresh faces handed a chance by Renard, opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time after being set up by Franck Kessié, who then doubled the lead himself from the penalty spot early in the second half.
Ghana travelled without Mohammed Kudus, Thomas Partey, Antoine Semenyo and Jordan Ayew, leaving Carlos Queiroz with a significantly weakened hand for one of African football’s toughest away assignments. Despite fielding Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Ernest Nuamah and Brandon Thomas-Asante in attack under captain Alexander Djiku, the Black Stars couldn’t find a way past an Ivorian spine built around Kessié, Ibrahim Sangaré, Ousmane Diomandé, Evan Ndicka and Nicolas Pépé.
Mbeumo on Target as Cameroon Cruise Past Comoros
Cameroon also got off to a flying start, beating Comoros 3-1 in Garoua behind goals from David Ningo, Manchester United star Bryan Mbeumo and Danny Namaso. Warmed Omari briefly threatened a Comoros response with a goal just after the hour, but the Indomitable Lions — quarter-finalists at the last AFCON — were never truly troubled, delivering exactly the composed home performance expected of them.
Uganda Hold Tunisia to Encouraging Draw in Radès
Rounding off the night’s action, co-hosts Uganda earned a battling 1-1 draw away to Tunisia, a result that will please coach Paul Put even though the Cranes have already secured their place at AFCON 2027 as co-hosts alongside Kenya and Tanzania.
Adem Arous fired the hosts ahead early, handing new Tunisia coach Mouine Chaâbani a promising start on his competitive bow. But Rogers Mato restored parity in the 68th minute to earn Uganda a share of the spoils in Tunis — valuable minutes and a solid marker as the Cranes fine-tune their squad ahead of hosting duties next year.
With Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe all claiming maximum points from their openers, the race for AFCON 2027 qualification is already taking shape across all 12 groups.
