Guinea-Bissau Upset Tanzania; Mozambique Hold Senegal as Sudan Beat Ethiopia in AFCON Qualifiers

# Quick summary Guinea-Bissau produced the standout result on Matchday One of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers by beating co-host Tanzania 2-0 away. Mozambique held Senegal to a 1-1 draw in Patrick Vieira's first competitive match as Senegal coach. Sudan won 1-0 against Ethiopia with a late goal.

# Match-by-match

Guinea-Bissau struck in the first half and sealed the win after the break. Franculino Djú opened the scoring in the 33rd minute and Mama Baldé doubled the lead in the 58th. Tanzania introduced several second-half substitutions but could not overturn the deficit. Because Tanzania are one of the AFCON 2027 co-hosts and already qualified, Guinea-Bissau's three away points become especially valuable to the group race for a qualifying place.

Senegal took the lead in the 32nd minute through Nicolas Jackson. Mozambique responded in stoppage time before half-time when Geny Catamo levelled, and neither side found a winner after the break. The draw is Senegal's first under Patrick Vieira in competitive action and comes with notable absences in the squad, including Sadio Mané due to a physical issue. Mozambique will view the point as encouragement against one of Africa's stronger sides.

A tight game remained scoreless until late. Mohamed Eisa scored in the 86th minute to give Sudan all three points. The victory gives Sudan a positive start in Group J, which also contains Senegal and Mozambique, and shows the kind of narrow, disciplined result that can matter in a closely fought qualification group.

# Group implications Group L (with Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Madagascar)

Group J (with Senegal, Mozambique, Sudan, Ethiopia)

# What to watch next

• Senegal under Vieira: the draw is a cautious start. The coach will need to manage absences and test attacking options such as Jackson, Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye and Assane Diao in coming qualifiers.
• Sudan's consistency: convert defensive resilience into points over the next fixtures to sustain their challenge in Group J.

# Bottom line Matchday One altered early expectations. Guinea-Bissau's road win matters more than the scoreline because of Tanzania's pre-qualification as host. Senegal's draw and Sudan's narrow win make Group J immediately competitive. Upcoming head-to-heads among Nigeria, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau will be decisive for that Group L qualifying spot.