South Sudan national team head coach Cyprian Besong has praised the attitude of players in training ahead of crucial FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifier against Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday.
Twenty-five players have been training at the Al-Hilal Stadium for one week to prepare ahead of the first leg of the qualifier in Khartoum, Sudan.
The team has gone through several drills to prepare for the match against the Nzalang Nationale.
And coach Besong has applauded the players for their positive attitude.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “I am happy with the positive attitude of the players and the fact that many of them are playing together for the first time. Our build-up game against Sudan’s U-23 team that we won 1-0 a few days ago helped us assess several aspects.” [/perfectpullquote]
The Ghanaian coach made it clear that the players are now getting used to the new system he wants them to play.
“Goal scoring will come with time because all this comes with practice. But we shall have to be at our best and take chances against Equatorial Guinea,” he added.
“But I am not worried because the attitude is good. We are still in a building process but getting a win before going to Equatorial Guinea will be very vital.”
South Sudan are among the 28-lowest ranked CAF teams that will battling for the right to progress into the group stage.
The return leg matches will be held on Sunday 8 September and Tuesday 10 September.
The 14 teams that will qualify from preliminary round will join 26 teams already given a bye into the second round based on their ranking. The leaders of each group will qualify for the final round of the qualifiers.
2022 World Cup qualifiers, CAF first round, first leg fixtures
Wednesday 4 September
15:00: Burundi v Tanzania
15:00: Eritrea v Namibia
15:00: Ethiopia v Lesotho
15:00: South Sudan v Equatorial Guinea
16:30: Mauritius v Mozambique
17:00: Djibouti v Eswatini
17:30: Sao Tome e Principe v Guinea Bissau
20:00: Liberia v Sierra Leone
Thursday 5 September
14:00: Seychelles v Rwanda
16:30: Chad v Sudan
17:00: Somalia v Zimbabwe
Friday 6 September
14:00: Comoros v Togo
19:00: Gambia v Angola
Saturday 7 September
16:00: Botswana v Malawi
