Egypt and Morocco begin the 2027 African Nations qualifiers by facing Angola and Gabon

The Egyptian and Moroccan national teams are looking forward to a strong start at the start of the qualifying campaign for the 2027 African Cup of Nations, when the former hosts its Angolan counterpart, and the latter against Gabon, today.

At its home stadium in Cairo Stadium, the Egyptian national team is looking forward to a strong start on the road to regaining the continental title and enhancing the record it holds (7 titles).

The Egyptian team enters the match with a relative advantage over its competitor in direct confrontations, as it has not suffered a loss against Angola in the previous eight confrontations between them.

The Egyptian team ranked fourth in the last edition of the continental championship, after losing to Senegal in the semi-finals, before falling to Nigeria on penalties in the third-place match.

The Egyptian team then achieved relatively positive results in the 2026 World Cup, where it qualified for the round of 16 after finishing second in its group behind Belgium, equal with it on the points tally, before presenting a strong performance against Argentina in the round of 16. The Egyptian team advanced by two goals in that controversial confrontation, but lost in the end 3-2, leaving a good impression despite the exit.

Hossam Hassan, the coach of the Egyptian national team, is still counting on the list that participated in the World Cup, with 22 players out of 24 selected to face Angola.

Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, and Mohamed Abdel Moneim lead the list of the most prominent professional names abroad, along with Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet. Some names who were prominent in the World Cup will be absent from the squad, such as Yasser Ibrahim due to injury and Marwan Attia due to suspension.

On the other hand, the Angolan national team is seeking to achieve a positive result that will give it an early boost in the qualifiers, after appearing in the African Cup of Nations finals on nine occasions, including the last three in a row.

The Angolan national team failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but it enters the match with an unbeaten record in the last four matches, having achieved one win and three draws.

At Prince Moulay Abdullah Stadium, the Moroccan national team will begin its journey by hosting its Gabonese counterpart this evening, also looking forward to continuing its strong performances after its positive participation in the World Cup.

The two teams are in a familiar group of qualifiers, after they also faced Lesotho in the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, while Niger completes the first group competitions.

Although the Moroccan national team was unable to repeat its historic achievement by reaching the semi-finals in the 2022 World Cup, coach Mohamed Wehbe can feel satisfied with his team’s performance in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and reaching the quarter-finals.

Wehbe, 49 years old, took over the leadership of the Moroccan national team last March, succeeding Walid Regragui, noting that he led the Moroccan youth team under 20 years of age to win the World Cup in Chile.

After the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided to award the final match of the continental championship last January, with Morocco’s 3-0 victory over Senegal, the Moroccan national team needed to prove itself on the field, which is what it did in the World Cup. Morocco currently ranks sixth in the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rankings, and goes into today's match with a strong record at home, as it has not been defeated during normal time since a 1-3 loss to Burkina Faso in a friendly match in July 2025, a series that also includes their campaign in the 2025 African Cup of Nations at the same stadium.

On the other hand, the Gabonese national team previously faced Morocco in the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, and lost to them 1-4 and 1-5 in the two matches.