Guinea-Bissau stun Nigeria 3-0 in AFCON qualifying
Franculino, Mama Baldé and Alvaro Djaló scored as Guinea-Bissau beat Nigeria to lead Group L with two wins from two games in AFCON 2027 qualifying.
Football national side
Madagascar
National team · Madagascar
«Barea»
64
Matches
20
wins
14
draws
30
losses
68–86
Goals
−18
Difference
1.1
Scored per game
Form
W
17 Nov 2025 · Home Equatorial Guinea · 2:0
W
28 Mar · Away Kyrgyzstan · 5:2
D
31 Mar · Away Equatorial Guinea · 1:1
L
2 Jun · Away Morocco · 0:4
L
25 Sep · Away Nigeria · 1:2
D
29 Sep · Home Tanzania · 1:1
Twice across two World Cup qualifying campaigns, Madagascar has been measured against the same two sides. In 2018 it finished third in its group behind Senegal and Guinea; for the 2026 qualifiers it was drawn again with both of them, alongside Zimbabwe, in Group 4.
Barea, as the team is known at home, is run by the Fédération Malagasy de Football, which joined FIFA in 1964. The squad plays in green, white and red, taken from the national flag, and can call on the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium in Antananarivo, which holds close to 41,000.
Madagascar topped a group that included Nigeria, beat DR Congo in the round of 16, then lost to Tunisia in the quarter-finals. Anicet Abel had scored the country's first-ever goal at the tournament earlier in that same run.
In the African Nations Championship, Madagascar has gone further at times: third place in 2022, then a run to the final in 2024, lost 3-2 to Morocco.
The scoring record belongs to Paulin Voavy , who scored 15 goals in 67 appearances for the national side.
A place at the World Cup finals is still the one thing missing.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 29 Sep | Africa Cup of Nations - Qualification |
Tanzania
H
|
1:1 | D |
| 25 Sep | Africa Cup of Nations - Qualification |
Nigeria
A
|
1:2 | L |
| 8 Jun | Friendlies |
Uganda
A
|
||
| 2 Jun | Friendlies |
Morocco
A
|
0:4 | L |
| 31 Mar | Friendlies |
Equatorial Guinea
A
|
1:1 | D |
| 28 Mar | Friendlies |
Kyrgyzstan
A
|
5:2 | W |
Standing
Africa Cup of Nations - QualificationGroup stage · Africa Cup of Nations - Qualification - Group L
| # | Team | M | W | D | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Guinea-Bissau
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 6 |
| 2 |
Nigeria
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2:4 | 3 |
| 3 |
 Madagascar
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2:3 | 1 |
| 4 |
Tanzania
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1:3 | 1 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 64
64
Matches
20
wins
14
draws
30
losses
68–86
Goals
−18
Difference
1.1
Scored per game
wins
draws
losses
scored — above the line
conceded — below the line
| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 64 | 32 | 32 |
| Scored | 68 | 34 | 34 |
| Conceded | 86 | 33 | 53 |
| Scored per game | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Conceded per game | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 |
| Difference | −18 | +1 | −19 |
Key players
by appearances over the last year
M. Jean-Pierre
Defender
2 Matches
Nicolas Paul Julien Fontaine
Midfielder
2 Matches
Marco Ilaimaharitra
Midfielder
2 Matches
Hakim Djamel Abdallah
Forward
2 Matches
Roman Ferber
Forward
2 Matches
Loïc André Terry Lapoussin
Midfielder
2 Matches
Geordan Dupire
Goalkeeper
2 Matches
Warren Caddy
Forward
2 Matches
Squad of Madagascar
by appearances over the last year| Number | Player | Position | Age | Matches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | M. Jean-Pierre |
Defender | 2 | ||
| 13 | |
Nicolas Paul Julien Fontaine |
Midfielder | 26 | 2 |
| 6 | |
 Marco Ilaimaharitra |
Midfielder | 31 | 2 |
| 19 | Hakim Djamel Abdallah |
Forward | 2 | ||
| 18 |  Roman Ferber |
Forward | 2 | ||
| 17 | Loïc André Terry Lapoussin |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 1 | Geordan Dupire |
Goalkeeper | 2 | ||
| 9 | Warren Caddy |
Forward | 2 | ||
| 5 |  Sandro Dennis Trémoulet |
Defender | 2 | ||
| 11 |  Ryan Ponti |
Defender | 2 | ||
| 7 |  Rayan Ny Aina Arnaldo Raveloson |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 22 | |
 Mathieu Akapandzé |
Defender | 21 | 2 |
| 14 |  K. Couturier |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 15 |  Ehsan Kari |
Defender | 2 | ||
| 10 |  El Hadary Ylan |
Midfielder | 2 | ||
| 20 |  Arnaud Randrianantenaina |
Forward | 1 |
Fixtures of Madagascar
-
29 Sep
Tanzania
H
1:1
D
-
25 Sep
Nigeria
A
1:2
L
-
8 Jun
Uganda
A
-
2 Jun
Morocco
A
0:4
L
-
31 Mar
Equatorial Guinea
A
1:1
D
-
28 Mar
Kyrgyzstan
A
5:2
W
-
17 Nov
Equatorial Guinea
H
2:0
W
-
12 Oct
Mali
A
1:4
L
Honours of Madagascar
- Africa Cup of Nations 2019 1
- African Nations Championship 2024 1
- African Nations Championship 2022 1
- COSAFA Cup 2015 1
Team news
Victor Osimhen out of Nigeria's AFCON qualifiers with groin strain
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen misses Nigeria's qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau and the Russia friendly; Taiwo Awoniyi replaces him in the squad.