Football
Associated Press 8y

South Sudan begin first World Cup qualifying campaign with draw

South Sudan earned a draw in their World Cup qualifying debut, holding Mauritania 1-1 on Thursday, a day after the game began and was then abandoned because of heavy rain.

The score was unchanged from when it was stopped after 10 minutes of play on Wednesday at the National Stadium.

Boubacar Bagili had scored in the third minute for Mauritania. Dominic Abui Pretino equalised with South Sudan's first goal in World Cup qualifying, giving the world's newest nation hope ahead of the return leg in Mauritania next week.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, and its football federation was admitted by FIFA in 2012.

Last month, the South Sudanese secured their first victory in a competitive game when they beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in an African Cup qualifier.

Also on Thursday in Africa's first round of qualifying, Sao Tome and Principe surprised Ethiopia 1-0, with Luis Leal's 86th-minute goal providing a win over a side 85 places above them in the FIFA rankings.

Guinea-Bissau managed a 1-1 draw at Liberia, with Malado Anido's second-half goal cancelling out William Jebor opener from the penalty spot.

On Wednesday, Victor Wayamba captained Kenya to a 5-2 win away to Mauritius.

Johanna Omollo scored twice, and Ayub Masika, Haron Shakava and Michael Olunga added goals as Kenya secured a big win in Mauritius to put the Kenyans in a strong position in their tie ahead of the return leg on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Burundi won 1-0 at Seychelles thanks to Fiston Abdoul Razak's 15th-minute goal, Tanzania beat Malawi 2-0 with goals by Mbwana Samata and Thomas Ulimwengu, and the small Indian Ocean island of Comoros drew 0-0 with Lesotho.

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