The Super Eagles of Nigeria will begin their campaign for a place at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with a home fixture against Madagascar later this month.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed that Nigeria will face Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
Four days later, the three-time African champions will travel to Morocco for their second qualifying fixture against Guinea-Bissau on Sunday, September 27.
The dates and venues were announced in a fixture graphic shared on the official Super Eagles X account on Tuesday.
Nigeria have been placed in Group L alongside Madagascar, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau for the qualifying series.
The 2027 AFCON finals will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania from June 19 to July 17, 2027.
The Super Eagles will be eager to return to the continental tournament after their failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The AFCON qualifying matches will be played on a home-and-away basis, with each team initially scheduled to play six games in the group stage.
However, the qualification arrangement for Group L differs because Tanzania is one of the three host nations for the tournament and has already secured an automatic place in the finals.
Under the qualifying rules, the two highest-ranked teams in each group will normally qualify for the AFCON tournament, but Groups D, H and L are subject to special provisions because they contain the respective host nations.
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As a result, Tanzania’s automatic qualification means only the highest-ranked team apart from Tanzania in Group L will earn a qualification ticket.
Nigeria will therefore need to make a strong start against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau as they begin their quest to return to the African football showpiece.