New coaches take immediate responsibility as qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations gets under way, with 48 nations contesting two rounds in the opening international window starting Thursday. The teams will play two further fixtures in November and finish the group phase with doubleheaders in March, and the top two in nine of the 12 groups will reach the 24‑team finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are already guaranteed places, which reduces available slots in the groups they occupy and means a second‑placed finish may not be enough in those pools. That configuration raises the stakes from the first matches, and several national sides begin the campaign under new leadership following the World Cup and the 2025 Afcon final.
Two headline appointments stand out. Herve Renard, the only coach to win Afcon with two different countries, has returned to the Ivory Coast and starts at home against Ghana on Thursday. Patrick Vieira, taking his first international post with Senegal, calls the role "an absolute dream" and opens with away fixtures against Mozambique and Ethiopia while Dakar prepares to host the 2026 Youth Olympics. In Ghana's dugout, Carlos Queiroz is back, although Tottenham forward Mohammed Kudus has withdrawn from the squad.
Several other changes reshuffle regional prospects. Cape Verde promoted Humberto Bettencourt after Bubista resigned, with Bettencourt due in Mali on Friday then at home to Rwanda on Tuesday. Tunisia have appointed Moin Chaaban following a poor World Cup campaign that saw Sabri Lamouchi dismissed after one game and Renard fail to engineer a recovery. Algeria named Brahim Hemdani after Vladmir Petkovic's exit, South Africa reappointed Pitso Mosimane 14 years after his last spell, and Claude Le Roy has returned to coach Congo‑Brazzaville at age 78 as he targets a record‑extending 10th Afcon finals appearance. Burkina Faso appointed Amir Abdou, and Aliou Cisse begins his competitive tenure with Angola away in Egypt.
Player turnover is also notable. Edouard Mendy has retired after helping Senegal to the 2021 and 2025 titles, the latter still contested at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Riyad Mahrez has quit international duty, Ivory Coast will be without Seko Fofana and Jean‑Michael Seri, Ellyes Skhiri has retired, and Pierre‑Emerick Aubameyang has stepped back from Gabon duty after saying he felt "humiliated" by his treatment following their exit at the previous tournament.
There are also fresh stories from the lower ranks: Eritrea return to the group stage of Afcon qualifiers for the first time since the build‑up to the 2008 edition, having beaten Eswatini 4‑1 on aggregate in the preliminary round in March. With new coaches settling in and key players absent, the opening windows will test whether these changes deliver immediate gains or leave teams scrambling before the decisive March fixtures.
