Sierra Leone end AFCON campaign with Guinea-Bissau defeat

The Djurtus Wild Dogs of Bissau defeated Sierra Leone 2-1 on Monday at the Estádio 24 de Setembro to wrap up the AFCON 2023 qualifiers.

Coach John Keister’s side started brightly as they capitalised on an early six-minute chance scored by Dundee‘s striker Amadou Bakayoko, assisted by Emmanuel Samadia.

However, the home side, Guinea-Bissau, rallied from a goal down to a 2-1 victory in their final Group A campaign at the Stade du 24 Septembre.

Nito Fernando de Lacerda Gomes and Franculino Djú’s goals in the 35th and 48th minutes, respectively, were enough for the home fans to celebrate another AFCON qualification win.

As a result, the win was the icing on the cake on their qualification to next year’s continental showpiece. 

There were a couple of changes from the Sierra Leone technical bench, including seventeen-year-old Sallieu Bah making his International debut.

Despite the defeat, the Sierra Leone Football Association president, Thomas Daddy Brima, has this to say about the young talented midfielder Bah’s debut.

“Sallieu Bah (17), made his debut for the Sierra Leone National Senior Team today and showed class, confidence and pure talent against Guinea Bissau. It was so much joy watching this young lad. The future is indeed bright for him and many of his kind in Sierra Leone.”

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