Rwanda, South Sudan take control in TotalEnergies CAF U-23 AFCON qualifiers

Rwanda and South Sudan took major strides towards the second round of the TotalEnergies CAF Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2027 qualifiers with convincing first-leg victories on Wednesday.

Rwanda defeated Sudan 3-0 in Kigali, while South Sudan secured the same scoreline against Djibouti to leave both sides firmly in control of their respective ties ahead of the return fixtures.

Abdul Niyigena gave Rwanda the perfect start when he opened the scoring after 10 minutes, before Honore Shingiro doubled the advantage shortly after halftime. Jesus Paul Sindi added a third in the closing stages to complete an excellent evening for the hosts.

South Sudan also did all their damage after the break in their 3-0 success over Djibouti, having been held goalless through the opening 45 minutes. They broke the deadlock five minutes after the restart before adding two more goals late on.

Zimbabwe also claimed an important first-leg advantage with a 2-0 home victory over Mauritius at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.

David Chigwara put the Young Warriors in front shortly before halftime and Zimbabwe added a second after the break to take a useful cushion into the return fixture in Mauritius.

There was little to separate Angola and Namibia as the Southern African neighbours played to a 1-1 draw in Luanda, leaving their tie finely poised ahead of the second leg.

It was a similar story in Lomé, where Togo and Libya also shared a 1-1 draw. Libya took the lead immediately after halftime before Togo hit back in the second period to ensure the teams travel for the return leg on level terms.

The first round features 28 teams competing across 14 home-and-away ties, with the winners advancing to join 14 nations who received byes into the second round.

Seven countries will eventually qualify to join hosts Egypt at the eight-team TotalEnergies CAF Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations 2027 finals.