SOCCER: Own goal hands Sudan fortunate win over Guinea at Cup of Nations

Sudan earned their first points of the Africa Cup of Nations finals on Sunday in Morocco, thanks to a late own goal that gave them a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea.

Mohamed Eisa’s free kick in the 74th minute was cleared by Equatorial Guinea’s Luis Asue but struck teammate Saul Coco and deflected past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Jesus Owono.

With the win, Sudan joined Algeria and Burkina Faso, who play later on Sunday in Rabat, on three points in Group E. Equatorial Guinea, the surprise performers in the last two Nations Cups, are now on the brink of elimination after successive losses.

Sudan had an early opportunity to take the lead when Eisa attempted a close-range effort in the fourth minute, but it went wide. He came close again in the 60th minute with a shot that beat Owono but was blocked on the goal line by Equatorial Guinea defender Esteban Orozco.

Equatorial Guinea’s Pedro Obiang had their best chances of the first half at Stade Mohamed V, miscuing a shot in front of goal before heading onto the roof of the net on the stroke of halftime, with Sudan goalkeeper Monged Elneel out of position.

The first half also saw a lengthy delay when Elneel suffered a head knock and was checked for a suspected concussion. He was able to continue playing.

After halftime, Equatorial Guinea substitute Jose Nabil proved a challenge for Sudan, while veteran striker Emilio Nsue had a late chance to equalize but narrowly missed.

The small Spanish-speaking nation could face elimination later on Sunday if Algeria and Burkina Faso draw in Rabat. Equatorial Guinea made headlines in recent tournaments by knocking defending champions Algeria out of the 2021 finals and defeating Ivory Coast 4-0 in the first round of the last tournament.

-Writing by Mark Gleeson in Tangiers; Editing by Ed Osmond/Reuters