{"id":2208,"date":"2026-05-19T14:40:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/?p=2208"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:40:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T14:40:32","slug":"bafana-bafana-set-for-afcon-2027-qualifiers-against-guinea-kenya-and-eritrea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/bafana-bafana-set-for-afcon-2027-qualifiers-against-guinea-kenya-and-eritrea\/","title":{"rendered":"Bafana Bafana Set for AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Against Guinea, Kenya and Eritrea"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Bafana Bafana Set for AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Against Guinea, Kenya and Eritrea<\/h2>\n<p>South Africa now know who they will face in the race to reach the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Bafana Bafana have been drawn in Group D of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers alongside Guinea, Kenya, and Eritrea, following the official draw held in Cairo on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<h3>The Draw<\/h3>\n<p>CAF conducted the draw at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association, with prominent African football figures including William Troost-Ekong, Essam El Hadary, Max Gradel, and Tr\u00e9sor Mputu among those present. All 48 participating teams were placed into 12 groups of four.<br \/>\nGroup D is made up as follows:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li>South Africa<\/li>\n<li>Guinea<\/li>\n<li>Kenya<\/li>\n<li>Eritrea<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2204 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/CAF-AFCON-2027-Qualifiers-Groups.webp\" alt=\"Bafana Bafana Set for AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Against Guinea, Kenya and Eritrea\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/CAF-AFCON-2027-Qualifiers-Groups.webp 1200w, https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/CAF-AFCON-2027-Qualifiers-Groups-300x269.webp 300w, https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/CAF-AFCON-2027-Qualifiers-Groups-1024x919.webp 1024w, https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/CAF-AFCON-2027-Qualifiers-Groups-768x689.webp 768w, https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/CAF-AFCON-2027-Qualifiers-Groups-450x404.webp 450w, https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/CAF-AFCON-2027-Qualifiers-Groups-780x700.webp 780w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Benni McCarthy to Face His Home Country<\/h3>\n<p>One of the standout storylines from the draw is the presence of Kenya in South Africa&#8217;s group. Kenya are coached by Benni McCarthy, a South African football legend who still holds the Bafana Bafana all-time international scoring record with 31 goals.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy will face the country he represented as a player, adding a personal dimension to what is already a competitive qualifying group.<\/p>\n<p>There is, however, an important detail that affects how the group will play out. Kenya are one of three co-hosts of the 2027 tournament, alongside Uganda and Tanzania. All three nations have already secured their places at the finals. That means in groups containing a co-host, only one qualifying spot is available for the remaining teams, rather than the usual two.<br \/>\nFor South Africa, Guinea, and Eritrea, that makes every point in Group D crucial.<\/p>\n<h3>Qualification Format<\/h3>\n<p>Across the 12 qualifying groups, the top two teams in each group will advance to the 24-team finals. However, in groups where a co-host is present, only one additional team will qualify since the host nation is already through.<\/p>\n<p>The qualifiers will be played across three international windows:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li>Matchdays 1 and 2: 21 September to 6 October 2025<\/li>\n<li>Matchdays 3 and 4: 9 to 17 November 2025<\/li>\n<li>Matchdays 5 and 6: 22 to 30 March 2027<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Bigger Picture<\/h3>\n<p>The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations will be a historic edition, becoming the first to be hosted by three countries at the same time. Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania will jointly stage the tournament, which is scheduled to run from 19 June to 17 July 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Defending champions Morocco head Group A alongside Gabon, Niger, and Lesotho. Senegal, who won the 2025 final before the result was overturned, are in Group J with Mozambique, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Nigeria are in Group L with Madagascar, Tanzania, and Guinea-Bissau.<\/p>\n<h3>What Bafana Bafana Must Do<\/h3>\n<p>South Africa will need to finish inside the automatic qualifying positions to reach the finals. With Kenya already assured of their place as co-hosts, Bafana Bafana are effectively competing with Guinea and Eritrea for one qualifying spot from Group D.<\/p>\n<p>It is a straightforward target on paper, but the group will need to be approached with focus and consistency across all six matchdays.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Also:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-6be3b8b\" data-id=\"6be3b8b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c99e822 elementor-widget elementor-widget-ct-small-list\" data-id=\"c99e822\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"ct-small-list.default\">\n<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n<div id=\"uid_c99e822\" class=\"block-wrap ct-block ct-small-list\">\n<div class=\"content-wrap\">\n<div class=\"content-inner rb-row\">\n<div class=\"rb-col-m12\">\n<div class=\"p-wrap p-list p-list-4 post-2202 p-style-3 no-avatar\">\n<div class=\"col-right\">\n<div class=\"p-header\"><i class=\"cat-dot-el cat-info-id-15\"><\/i><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/caf-afcon-2027-qualifiers-groups-full-draw-teams-and-fixtures\/\">CAF AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Groups: Full Draw, Teams and Fixtures<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/ivory-coast-national-football-team-squad-for-world-cup-2026\/\">Ivory Coast National Football Team Squad for World Cup 2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/south-african-football-prize-money-sundowns-pirates-durban-city\/\">South African Football Prize Money: Sundowns and Pirates Chase Big Prizes as Durban City Bank R7m<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/kaizer-chiefs-striker-glody-lilepo-left-out-of-dr-congo-world-cup-squad\/\">Kaizer Chiefs Striker Glody Lilepo Left Out of DR Congo World Cup Squad<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bafana Bafana Set for AFCON 2027 Qualifiers Against Guinea, Kenya and Eritrea South Africa now know who they will face in the race to reach the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. Bafana Bafana have been drawn in Group D of the AFCON 2027 qualifiers alongside Guinea, Kenya, and Eritrea, following the official draw held in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bafana-bafana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2208"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2211,"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2208\/revisions\/2211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/habariforum.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}