Guinea-Bissau beat Nigeria 3-0 at the Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro on Tuesday evening, a result that leaves the Super Eagles three points behind the Djurtus in Group L of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after two matches. Franculino Djú and Mama Baldé scored in each half before substitute Álvaro Djaló added a third in stoppage time.
AFCON 2027 Qualifier, Group L · Matchday 2
Full time
- Franculino Djú 15'
- Mama Baldé 66'
- Álvaro Djaló 90+4'
Estádio Nacional 24 de Setembro, Bissau · 29 September 2026
Nigeria arrived in Bissau level on three points with their hosts after a 2-1 comeback win over Madagascar in Uyo, but Eric Chelle’s side never recovered from falling behind early. It’s Guinea-Bissau’s second clean sheet in as many games, and they now have a perfect six points and a five-goal difference.
Djú strikes early as the Super Eagles lose control in Bissau
The opener came in the 15th minute when Renato Nhaga found Djú, who entered the box from the right and finished past Stanley Nwabali. The same forward had scored in Guinea-Bissau’s 2-0 win in Tanzania on Friday, and his early goal handed Emiliano Té’s side exactly the platform they wanted on a surface Chelle had spoken about before the game.
Nigeria had more of the ball after that, finishing with around 55 per cent of possession, but goalkeeper Fernando Embadjé dealt with what the visitors produced. Chelle had been careful not to blame conditions in advance, saying “I don’t want to say the pitch is good or the pitch is bad. We work on the pitch.” His players still struggled to turn possession into clear openings in a first half that ended with the hosts in front.
Baldé and Djaló punish Nigeria after the break
Guinea-Bissau doubled their lead midway through the second half when Mamadi Camará, who had come on for Nhaga, set up Baldé on the left for his second goal of the qualifying campaign. Chelle responded by sending on George Ilenikhena and Raphael Onyedika for Akor Adams and Wilfred Ndidi, but the changes brought no reply. Djaló, introduced off the bench late on, completed the scoring on the counter-attack four minutes into stoppage time as Nigeria pushed forward.
The margin of defeat will sting, because goal difference could matter in a group this tight. Nigeria had won three of their previous four meetings with Guinea-Bissau, including a 1-0 win in Bissau in March 2023, and hadn’t conceded three goals to them in any of those games.
Why this result makes Nigeria’s AFCON 2027 path much harder
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guinea-Bissau | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 6 | WonWon |
| 2 | Nigeria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 | WonLost |
| 3 | Madagascar | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 | LostDrew |
| 4 | Tanzania | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 | LostDrew |
After matchday 2. Tanzania qualify as co-hosts, so only the best-placed of the other three teams joins them at the finals.
Under CAF’s qualifying format for AFCON Pamoja 2027, groups containing a co-host send only the host and the best-placed of the remaining teams to the finals. With Tanzania already through as co-hosts, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar are fighting for one ticket, and Madagascar and Tanzania’s 1-1 draw earlier on Tuesday means the Djurtus are the only side in the group with a perfect record.
Nigeria now trail by three points, and Guinea-Bissau hold the first head-to-head result with a three-goal cushion. The Super Eagles will need to win the return fixture comfortably and avoid further slips against Madagascar and Tanzania to overturn that gap over the remaining four matchdays.
The week had already been disrupted, with Chelle managing illness in the camp and doubts over Ilenikhena and Akor Adams, as he explained at his pre-match press conference in Bissau. Those issues will be part of the review, but the bigger question for the Nigeria Football Federation and the technical crew is how a squad that won its opening game now finds itself chasing qualification before the November window.
