Sudan Edge Equatorial Guinea to Revive AFCON Knockout Hopes

Sudan boosted their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea, courtesy of an own goal by Saul Coco in the 74th minute.

The win lifts the Sudanese into third place in the group and reignites their chances of progressing beyond the group stage for only the second time since 1970.

With both teams having suffered defeats in their opening group matches, a positive response was required from each side. Equatorial Guinea began the encounter on the front foot, creating the better chances in the opening stages and squandering two clear opportunities within the first 25 minutes.

Former West Ham United midfielder Pedro Obiang came closest to opening the scoring when he fired a rebound narrowly over the crossbar after a poor defensive clearance left him stretching for a close-range finish.

Sudan, ranked 117th in the world, remained resilient under pressure and held firm before capitalising late on to secure a surprise victory, following their opening-day loss to Algeria.

Frustration will be high in the Equatorial Guinea camp after dominating large spells of the match but failing to convert their chances. They now face group favourites Algeria and must pull off an unlikely victory to keep their qualification hopes alive.