South Sudan wins in an intense duel against Congo, qualifying Uganda and South Africa.

South Sudan toppled Congo in a spectacular, goal-scoring match as they qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 on Thursday. This victory allowed Uganda and South Africa to validate their ticket for the tournament which will take place in Morocco next year.

In a lively duel at the Juba National Stadium, South Sudan won 3-2 against Congo in Group K, securing their first points of the campaign.

The locals, pushed by their supporters, showed enormous determination by overcoming a 2-1 deficit, offering themselves a crucial victory which made the stands explode with joy.

Thanks to this result, Uganda remains leader of the group with 10 points, followed by South Africa with eight points. South Sudan’s victory brings them to three points, just behind Congo, who have four.

With just one match to play, Congo, in third position, can no longer catch up with Uganda or South Africa, paving the way for the first two to qualify for CAN 2025 in Morocco.

It was Congo who took the lead, opening the scoring in the 26th minute thanks to an unstoppable header from Christopher Ibayi from close range.

South Sudan were quick to react and Ebon Malish equalized in the 31st minute with a powerful header that hit the mark.

But Congo did not give up and Ibayi gave his team the lead again four minutes later, scoring with a well-aimed shot from a tight angle.

South Sudan, far from being discouraged, came back to the score just before half-time thanks to Malish, who scored twice by heading in a precise cross from William Gama (45+2′).

In the second half, with the wind in their sails, the locals continued to put on the pressure. The turning point came in the 78th minute when Congo’s Bryan Passi was sent off, leaving the visitors 10 down.

Taking advantage of this advantage, substitute Data Elly scored the decisive goal in the 84th minute with a surgical strike, giving South Sudan their first victory in these qualifiers.

This success allows them to move closer to Congo in the Group K standings, now only one point behind.