Editor
Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations have taken a major blow after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau. The match was played at the Estadio 24 de Setembro on Tuesday evening.
Franculino Dju broke the deadlock as early as the 15th minute with a curling effort that Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali should have saved, before Mama Balde doubled Guinea-Bissau’s lead shortly after the hour mark with a shot that went in off the post.
Alvaro Djalo scored the third goal in stoppage time to seal a famous win for the home side.
The Tuesday, September 29 poor result has left Nigeria sitting in second place in their AFCON 2027 qualification group, three points behind leaders Guinea-Bissau. The runners-up spot may not be enough to advance to next summer’s tournament.
This is because Tanzania are also in Group L and have already qualified for AFCON 2027 by virtue of being co-hosts alongside Kenya and Uganda.
As such, only the highest-placed team in Group L, along with Tanzania, will advance to AFCON 2027.
By losing to Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria have no margin for error from here on in. The likely scenario is they will have to take six points from their double-header against Tanzania in November and then beat Madagascar away from home early next year.
Should Guinea-Bissau match those results, it will set up a winner-take-all match between the two nations in March 2027 where the Super Eagles could find themselves needing to win by at least three goals.
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