Africa Cup of Nations qualifying has begun, with incoming head coaches picking up the reins, teams seeking to maintain their World Cup momentum, and the road to Pamoja 2027 finally beginning.
The tournament is still over eight months away, but what better time for an entirely premature power ranking of the title contenders?
Over the opening rounds of qualification, Morocco and Cote d'Ivoire have laid down their title credentials, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo built on the new ground they broke in North America, while Nigeria and Ghana now have serious work to do even to reach the tournament itself.
Here's how we see the field for Pamoja '27.
9. Cameroon
Still reeling after the national agony of missing out on a World Cup - particularly the edition with the biggest ever African representation - Cameroon still appear to be in stabilisation mode under David Pagou.
He overachieved with the Indomitable Lions at the last AFCON, and they've moved into top spot in Group G after their opening fixtures - a home win over Comoros and a draw in nearby Congo-Brazzaville.
Bryan Mbeumo added the second in the 3-1 victory over the islanders, and while he has the class to be a potential AFCON MVP, beyond him, this Cameroon squad still lacks the individual quality of past Lions generations.
8. South Africa
Smashing Eritrea 5-0 away in neutral Cairo didn't tell us too much about Bafana Bafana's strength against the top end of African opposition, but the 2-1 home victory against Guinea - with Samukele Kabini scoring a 77th-minute winner - could prove decisive.
Given the presence of hosts Kenya, only one side will advance from Group D, so taking maximum points from their likely biggest threat in Guinea is massive.
It's particularly encouraging given the potential for a transitional international break after Hugo Broos was replaced by the returning Pitso Mosimane, yet Bafana Bafana looked hungry, with Teboho Mokoena particularly bright in midfield.
Mosimane's decision to start Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis for the crunch game with Guinea represented a change of tack from the conservative Broos, and the pair are growing into international football.
Given their recent deep runs at the Nations Cup, ability to handle knockout football, and the progress made at the World Cup, South Africa could well be tournament dark horses once again.
7. Algeria
Another heavyweight in transition, with the unhappy marriage with Vladimir Petkovic being brought to an irritable close in the aftermath of their World Cup elimination.
In comes former international Brahim Hemdani, whose encouraging talk of a new identity for the national side isn't quite underpinned by a stellar coaching career to date.
Nonetheless, there's a wealth of individual class - Ibrahim Maza, Anis Hadj Moussa, Bachir Belloumi and Adil Boulbina all scored during the international break - despite the international retirement of Riyad Mahrez.
The 3-1 victory over Zambia was a great start, and the Fennecs demonstrated clear resolve to battle back to 2-2 after going 2-0 down in the first 12 minutes against Burundi in Bujumbura.
6. Nigeria
This may seem like quite a favourable position for Nigeria considering they've just experienced one of their worst results of all time with a 3-0 away battering against lowly Guinea-Bissau, but the Super Eagles still possess one of the most fearsome rosters on the continent, and expect them to respond strongly.
They've reached the final and the semifinal in the last two tournaments, with Eric Chelle landing on a diamond formation that gets the best out of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Akor Adams, and the team has all it needs to compete for the big one once again...
...if they get there.
With hosts Tanzania in their group, only one team will advance, and the Super Eagles find themselves under pressure already to reach Pamoja.
Nonetheless, with Osimhen back in November - and their frightening frontline reunited - they can banish the pessimism with their fixtures against Tanzania, although that final group game against Guinea-Bissau at home already looks decisive.
5. DR Congo
The last time the Leopards approached an AFCON featuring this prominently among the favourites was in 1976, but such has the progress been under Sebastien Desabre that a genuine title tilt feels like the natural next step for this squad.
They took maximum points from their opening two qualifiers - against Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe - and they'll realistically expect to confirm qualification during their double-header with Sierra Leone in November.
Desabre will be particularly encouraged by the two goalscoring displays by Yoane Wissa, who built on his fine form both at the World Cup and with Newcastle United this season.
4. Senegal
At first glance, this is a low position for the reigning African champions, but fourth may actually flatter them following several months of major turbulence.
The World Cup was chaotic, the squad are ageing, they're in the midst of a generational transition, and new head coach Patrick Vieira - for all of his playing pedigree - doesn't inspire confidence that he's the man to build a new Senegal.
The Teranga Lions weren't particularly inspired during this international break, as they were held 1-1 by Mozambique before Ibrahim Mbaye's 11th-minute goal was enough to down Ethiopia.
AFCON champions in recent tournaments have typically struggled to get close to their previous standards at the subsequent competition, and don't be surprised if Senegal become the next team to taste the curse of Nations Cup champs.
3. Egypt
Omar Marmoush didn't eclipse Mohamed Salah at the World Cup in the end - as I had predicted - but he certainly stole the headlines during this international window.
With the Trabzonspor superstar excused from the trip to South Sudan due - ostensibly - to the synthetic pitch in Juba, it was Tottenham Hotspur new boy Marmoush who stepped up to net twice in a resounding 5-0 victory.
The 0-0 draw with Angola in Cairo was far less convincing, while rumours of tensions in the camp between Salah and the coaching team won't dissipate overnight, but younger faces like Marmoush, Ibrahim Adel and Hamza Abdelkarim could ensure the Pharaohs possess more attacking bite at 2027 than in recent tournaments.
2. Ivory Coast
Like the DRC, the Ivory Coast began with a pair of victories in qualifying, with the Elephants showing no sign of the transitional pains one might expect following Emerse Fae's departure and Herve Renard's arrival.
The Frenchman returns to take over one of the continent's most stacked squads, with the West Africans proving in 2026 so far why they ought to be considered Africa's emerging force.
Debutant Malick Yalcouye impressed as Ghana were dispatched 2-0, and while the 2-0 victory over Somalia didn't come so readily, the 2024 champions nonetheless boast a rich and deep roster of attacking talents.
In Renard, they also possess a head coach who's won the AFCON - twice - and clearly has taken this job believing he can return the Elephants to the pinnacle of the African game.
1. Morocco
That an AFCON final and a World Cup quarterfinal can constitute a disappointing 2026 says everything about Morocco's expectations these days, and they remain the standard for the rest of the continent.
They still boast a cohesion and fluidity of play that no other team can match, have the technical prowess to impose themselves, the defensive rigour to keep others at bay, and some of the finest players on the continent, bolstered now by wonderkid Ayyoub Bouaddi.
It was a convincing international break - Gabon and Lesotho both defeated - with some of Morocco's younger 'next generation' getting the chance to further establish themself in the international arena.
Could there be a first time winner?
Mali - as has been the case for many tournaments - are the most intriguing possibility here, and consecutive victories over Cape Verde and Liberia suggest they're entering this cycle in fine fettle.
New head coach Tony is an unknown quantity at this level - he was Cameroon's video analyst as recently as 2022 - and is he really the guy to get the Eagles over the line?
Cape Verde have been brought crashing back down to earth after their marvellous World Cup run.
With Humberto Bettencourt having replaced Bubista as head coach, they fell to consecutive defeats - the home loss against Rwanda is particularly alarming - and they already face an uphill struggle to even qualify.
The hosts took a collective six points from a possible 18 across their six combined fixtures - with Uganda responsible for four of them - and the Cranes are the only one of the trio who could make an impact in the knockouts.
Which big names are missing?
Ghana, of course, can't realistically be ranked among the title contenders after such a punishing week.
They were defeated 2-0 by the Cote d'Ivoire, before surrendering a 2-0 lead in Accra to lose 4-2 to The Gambia, with Carlos Queiroz departing his post - for the second time in less than three months - in the aftermath of that humbling defeat.
They need the right appointment - and a massive upturn in fortunes - to even reach the tournament. Tunisia are also missing from our power ranking of contenders.
The Carthage Eagles were never going to immediately turn things around after such a disastrous World Cup - zero points, 12 goals conceded - but draws against Uganda and Botswana have hardly raised the optimism.
We'll learn a lot about Tunisia in November's pair of fixtures against North African rivals Libya.