Osimhen ruled out as Nigeria open 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Madagascar

Nigeria begin AFCON 2027 qualifying without Osimhen

Nigeria's Super Eagles host Madagascar on Friday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, in the opening match of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), to be held in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Kick-off is reported as 19:00 by 2424.mg and as 18:00 by Foot Mercato.

According to Foot Mercato, Nigeria will be without Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen (45 caps), who has not featured for his club since early September and has not yet recovered from a muscle tear. He was absent even as an unused substitute when Galatasaray suffered a heavy 4-0 loss to Mohamed Salah's Liverpool. The Super Eagles confirmed on their official X account that Osimhen will miss both this match and the following qualifier against Guinea-Bissau on 29 September, wishing him a swift recovery.

Madagascar's final preparations

According to 2424.mg, Madagascar's national team, known as the Barea, arrived in Uyo in waves starting Monday and had their full squad together by Tuesday for their first training session ahead of the match. Madagascar are in Group L alongside Nigeria, Tanzania and Guinea-Bissau, with only one qualifying spot available, since Tanzania — as one of the three host nations — is already automatically qualified. That leaves the other three teams competing for the group's single remaining ticket. Notably, Madagascar will not be able to host their following match against Tanzania at home on 29 September; it will instead be played at the Stade d'Honneur in Meknes, Morocco, because Madagascar lacks a stadium certified for official matches.

Nigeria's captain calls for a strong start

As reported by AfricaFoot, Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi, who plays for Beşiktaş, told Footy-Africa that starting the campaign well is essential. He said the team is focused solely on itself rather than its opponents and is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, referring to Nigeria's poor start at home that contributed to missing out on World Cup qualification. After facing Madagascar, Nigeria travel to Guinea-Bissau on 29 September and will play a friendly against Russia on 6 October.

Betting odds cited by AfricaFoot from bookmaker 1xbet make Nigeria heavy favourites at 1.15 for a win, with a draw priced at 4.40 and a Madagascar victory at 10.50.