Rabat: The Moroccan national football team will launch, on Friday at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat (7:00 p.m. GMT), its campaign in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), hosting Gabon on the opening day of Group A. According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, Also drawn alongside Niger and Lesotho, the Atlas Lions will begin their qualifying campaign at home before traveling to South Africa on Tuesday, September 29 to face the Crocodiles of Lesotho on the second matchday. The game will be the national team's first official outing since the 2026 World Cup. National coach Mohamed Ouahbi has called up 29 players for this international window, including the return of Nayef Aguerd and several young players, notably Soufiane El-Faouzi, Yassir Zabiri, Tawfik Bentayeb and Abdellah Ouazane. Morocco will, however, have to cope with several absences. Achraf Hakimi and Ismael Saibari are suspended for the game, while Ayoub El Kaabi and Chadi Riad are sidelined with injuries. For Gabon, the encounter comes against a backdrop marked notably by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's international retirement. The striker, captain and iconic figure of the Panthers, announced his retirement from international football, bringing his career with the Gabonese national team to an end. The two teams are familiar with each other, having met several times in recent years. In the qualifiers for AFCON 2025, Morocco won both encounters against Gabon, 4-1 in Agadir and 5-1 in Franceville. The opening day of the qualifiers thus represents an important first test for the Atlas Lions, who will be looking to make a strong start to their qualifying campaign in front of their home fans. The final tournament of AFCON 2027 is scheduled to take place from June 19 to July 17, 2027, in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.