Qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations continues. It is still difficult to say who will claim the two places at the finals from Group J. Senegal and Sudan are among the contenders.
Senegal
Senegal are second in the group, behind Mozambique only on goal difference and a point ahead of Sudan. Only two of the six rounds have been played, though. Now managed by Patrick Vieira, they played twice away from home in late September — drawing 1:1 with Mozambique and narrowly beating Ethiopia 1:0. They now face back-to-back matches against Sudan. In between, there was also an away friendly against Comoros (1:0). The Lions of Teranga's matches tend to be low-scoring: looking only at their last 10 games against African opponents, under 2.5 goals has landed six times and under 3.5 goals eight times. We are excluding their defeat by forfeit against Morocco in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final.
Sudan
Sudan have beaten Ethiopia at home (1:0) in this qualifying campaign, but suffered a heavy away defeat to Mozambique (1:4). Unlike Senegal, who have played 14 matches in 2026, Sudan have played just three. Their other match took place on 3 January in the Round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations, when the Falcons of Jediane faced Senegal (1:3). The visitors will therefore be considerably less cohesive than their opponents, quite apart from simply lacking the same star quality.
Senegal vs Sudan Prediction
There is little reason to expect Senegal to fail to beat an average team in front of their own fans. Sudan's goalkeeper could have an inspired game, but their defenders still give opponents plenty of opportunities. However, given the hosts' low-scoring matches recently, we do not expect more than three goals. Our prediction is Senegal to win and under 3.5 goals.
