AFCON (Q): Somalia and Mauritius play out goalless first leg

Somalia and Mauritius played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round qualifier in Matola, Mozambique. The Arena Lalgy Tchumen hosted the tie due to Somalia lacking a CAF-accredited stadium on their home soil.

 

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Somalia came into the tie with some new faces from Europe, while Mauritius were the first team to look to open the scoring. Kévin Bru almost broke the deadlock in the fifth minute when his strike from the edge of the box agonizingly sailed wide. The Ocean Stars captain, Abdulsamed Abdullah, hit the woodwork against the run of play in the 19th minute for the half’s best chance.

The slow start to the second half eased the pressure on the Dodos, but they failed to control the tempo of the encounter. The home side, on the other hand, were in search of a goal, but their lack of quality in finishing let them down.

The introduction of Muktar Suleyman helped Somalia add quality to their attack but he missed two golden chances. Suleyman struck wide in the 79th minute before Mauritius goalkeeper Dorian Chiotti pulled off a superb save to deny him a minute later.

Mauritius take a first-leg advantage going into the return match, which will be played on Tuesday in Mauritius. Somalia coach Yusuf Ali Nur will be disappointed with the missed chances as Somalia hope to secure qualification to the group stage.