Guinea secured their second win in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers after defeating Eritrea 2-1 at the Stade du 28 Septembre, located in Conakry, on Thursday.
Mohamed Soumah opened the scoring for Guinea. After a corner kick from Aguibou Camara, the defender rose higher than his marker and headed the ball into the top right corner, giving goalkeeper Yonathan Sultan no chance.
Three minutes later, Guinea almost doubled lead. Striker Morlaye Sylla tried his luck from outside the box with a right-footed shot, but Eritrean goalkeeper Yonathan Sultan made a superb save. Eritrea went for their own attack in the 20th minute. After a pass from midfielder Namrud Embaye, striker Tesfaldet Tekie tried a left-footed shot from outside the box, but he sent the ball over the goal, posing no threat to goalkeeper Mohamed Camara.
In the 23rd minute, Guinea almost scored their second. Aguibou Camara took a direct free kick from very far out, more than 35 meters from the goal, and hits the crossbar with a right-footed shot. At the start of the second half, Guinea made three substitutions. Thierno Barry replaced Yadaly Diaby, Yakhouba Barry replaced Kerfala Cissoko, and Ousmane Camara took Aliou Baldé’s place.
Aboubacar Keita received a yellow card after committing a hard foul on Nahom Tadese of Eritrea. The injured player required medical attention, and the match was paused for a few moments while the medical team provided the necessary care.
Guinea efforts were finally rewarded in the 60th minute when Yakhouba Barry extended the home team’s lead. Morlaye Sylla found a great through ball for the striker, who received it inside the area and finished with his right foot.
Maill Lundgren reduced the deficit for Eritrea to ignite a late comeback in the 82nd minute. After receiving a pass from Ablelom Teklezgi, the striker took a right-footed shot from outside the box and found the bottom left corner of the goal, giving Camara no chance.
Eritrea made their final substitution of the match when midfielder Romel Mahmud came in to replace Ali Sulieman, in another attempt to refresh the attacking sector and seek an equaliser in the final minutes.
The three host nations – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – have already qualified automatically for the 2027 AFCON. In groups featuring a host nation, only the highest-placed team excluding the host will qualify from the group, while the top two finishers in the remaining groups will progress to the finals.
The qualifying campaign will conclude with matchdays five and six in March 2027, when the remaining places at Africa’s flagship football tournament will be confirmed.
