The race to East Africa heats up as Matchday 2 of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations KE-TZ-UG 27 Group Stage Qualifiers gets under way from Monday, 28 September. After an action-packed opening round, teams across all 12 groups now face the pressure of building on — or salvaging — their opening results.

A dramatic opening round

Matchday 1 delivered 63 goals across 24 fixtures, with 17 sides registering victories. Morocco, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, DR Congo, Zimbabwe, and South Africa were among the teams to make winning starts.

Group by group: what to expect in round two

In Group A, Morocco — who defeated Gabon 2-0 — travel to Lesotho, while Niger, who edged Lesotho 2-1, host Gabon. Group B sees South Sudan host Egypt after Malawi opened with a 2-1 win over South Sudan; Egypt and Angola had shared the spoils in Cairo. Angola and Malawi meet on 6 October.

Group C presents a mouth-watering reversal as Ghana host The Gambia — the side that beat them in the first round — and Somalia welcome Côte d'Ivoire. In Group D, South Africa, who opened with a 2-1 victory over Guinea, travel to neutral Egypt to face Eritrea on 30 September, before Guinea host co-hosts Kenya a day later. With Kenya already assured of their place as co-hosts, only one further slot remains available in the group.

Group E delivers the standout clash of Matchday 2, as the two opening winners — DR Congo and Zimbabwe — collide in Harare on Monday. Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone meet in the group's other fixture. In Group F, Central African Republic host Burkina Faso on Monday before Benin welcome Mauritania, who thrashed CAR 3-1 in round one.

Cameroon and Namibia, both victorious in Group G, face away tests — Comoros host Namibia while Congo welcome Cameroon. Group H offers intrigue after both fixtures ended in draws: Botswana face Tunisia on Monday and Uganda host Libya on Tuesday.

Algeria, who opened with a commanding 3-1 win over Zambia, travel to Burundi in Group I, while Zambia host Togo. Group J has Sudan, winners 1-0 over Ethiopia, visiting Mozambique, and Senegal — who drew 1-1 with Mozambique — heading to Ethiopia.

In Group K, Mali and Rwanda, both 3-1 winners in round one, face tests away from home — Cape Verde host Rwanda and Liberia welcome Mali. Group L sees Madagascar host Tanzania before Guinea-Bissau, who won 2-0 away in Tanzania, welcome Nigeria on Tuesday. Nigeria themselves came from behind to beat Madagascar 2-1 in round one.

Matchday 2 fixtures

Monday, 28 September

Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs. Sierra Leone (16:00 GMT) | Group E: Zimbabwe vs. DR Congo (16:00 GMT) | Group F: Central African Republic vs. Burkina Faso (16:00 GMT) | Group H: Botswana vs. Tunisia (19:00 GMT)

Tuesday, 29 September

Group A: Lesotho vs. Morocco (13:00 GMT) | Group A: Gabon vs. Niger (19:00 GMT) | Group B: South Sudan vs. Egypt (13:00 GMT) | Group C: Ghana vs. Gambia (16:00 GMT) | Group C: Somalia vs. Côte d'Ivoire (19:00 GMT) | Group F: Benin vs. Mauritania (19:00 GMT) | Group G: Comoros vs. Namibia (11:00 GMT) | Group G: Congo vs. Cameroon (19:00 GMT) | Group H: Uganda vs. Libya (16:00 GMT) | Group I: Burundi vs. Algeria (13:00 GMT) | Group I: Zambia vs. Togo (16:00 GMT) | Group J: Mozambique vs. Sudan (13:00 GMT) | Group J: Ethiopia vs. Senegal (13:00 GMT) | Group K: Cape Verde vs. Rwanda (16:00 GMT) | Group K: Liberia vs. Mali (19:00 GMT) | Group L: Madagascar vs. Tanzania (13:00 GMT) | Group L: Guinea-Bissau vs. Nigeria (16:00 GMT)

Wednesday, 30 September

Group D: Eritrea vs. South Africa (16:00 GMT)

Thursday, 1 October

Group D: Guinea vs. Kenya (16:00 GMT)

Tuesday, 6 October

Group B: Angola vs. Malawi (19:00 GMT)