AFCON 2027 Hopes Under Pressure as Leone Stars Lose to DR Congo

Sierra Leone’s senior men’s national team, Leone Stars, suffered a 3-1 defeat against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) in the first leg of their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Pamoja 2027 qualifying encounter.

Leone Stars endured a difficult start to the match, conceding an early goal in the 4th minute when Wissa put DR Congo ahead. Moutoussamy extended the hosts’ lead in the 35th minute, leaving Sierra Leone trailing by two goals at half-time.

The challenge became even tougher for Leone Stars in the second half when Kayembe scored DR Congo’s third goal in the 58th minute, putting the hosts firmly in control of the match.

However, Sierra Leone continued to push forward and eventually found a response in the 83rd minute through Bekoe, who pulled one goal back to give the visitors a lifeline.

Despite their late effort, Leone Stars were unable to find another goal as the match ended 3-1 in favour of DR Congo.

The defeat leaves Sierra Leone with a two-goal deficit to overcome in the return leg as they seek to keep their AFCON 2027 qualification hopes alive.

Leone Stars will now need a strong response in the next encounter to overturn the result and strengthen their chances of progressing in the qualifying campaign.