South Africa and Mozambique have made the strongest starts among the COSAFA nations in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 qualifiers, while several other sides remain firmly in contention after the opening two rounds.

There is still one fixture involving regional teams to be played, with Angola hosting Malawi in Luanda on Tuesday to complete Matchday Two.

South Africa are the only COSAFA side with a perfect six points after following a 2-1 home victory over Guinea with an emphatic 5-0 success against Eritrea in Cairo.

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Pitso Mosimane's side sit top of Group D and, with co-hosts Kenya already guaranteed a place at the finals, Bafana Bafana are in pole position for the one remaining qualification berth from the pool.

Mozambique have also made an excellent start in a difficult Group J, holding Senegal 1-1 away before claiming a superb 4-1 home victory over Sudan.

That leaves the Mambas level with Senegal on four points but top of the pool on goal-difference.

Zimbabwe produced one of the comebacks of the opening round as they rallied from 2-0 down to defeat Sierra Leone 3-2 away, before going down 2-1 at home to DR Congo. The Warriors have three points, three behind the Congolese at the top of Group E.

COSAFA rivals Namibia and Comoros are locked together on three points in Group G. Namibia opened with a 1-0 home win over Congo, but were then beaten by the same scoreline away to Comoros. The islanders had started their campaign with a 3-1 defeat in Cameroon.

Zambia bounced back from a 3-1 loss in Algeria with a 2-0 home victory over Togo and are second in a tight Group I, one point behind the Algerians.

Botswana remain unbeaten after successive 2-2 draws against Libya and Tunisia. They have two points in Group H, where co-hosts Uganda are already qualified, meaning the Zebras, Tunisia and Libya are effectively fighting for the other place at the finals.

Madagascar have one point in Group L after a 2-1 defeat in Nigeria and 1-1 home draw with co-hosts Tanzania. Like Botswana and South Africa, they are in a group containing an automatic qualifier and must finish as the leading non-host nation to reach PAMOJA 2027.

Lesotho have endured a difficult opening in Group A, losing 2-1 away to Niger and 2-0 at home to Morocco.

Malawi made a winning start with a 2-1 victory over South Sudan and now travel to Angola on Tuesday. The Palancas Negras earned an impressive 0-0 draw away to Egypt in their opener.

A Malawi victory would take them top of Group B with six points, while Angola can move level with Egypt on four points if they claim all three points.

The qualifiers resume in November with Matchdays Three and Four before the final two rounds are staged in March 2027.