Sudan boosted their chances of reaching the knockout stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after a Saul Coco own goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea on Sunday in Casablanca.
The own goal came in the 74th minute when Coco inadvertently deflected a Sudan free-kick into his own net while attempting to clear it with teammate Luis Asue.
This win marks only Sudan’s second AFCON victory in 18 matches across six tournament appearances since their 1970 triumph.
Sudan, currently ranked 117th in the FIFA world rankings compared to Equatorial Guinea’s 97th, now sit on three points from two games in Group E. Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, have lost both their matches so far.
Despite ongoing challenges at home from the conflict between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, Sudan is competing in Morocco with hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.
Their final group game is against Burkina Faso on Wednesday, where they aim to reach the knockout rounds for only the second time since winning the Cup in 1970.
Sudan’s previous AFCON knockout appearance was in 2012, when they reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champions Zambia.
