The final match of gameweek four in Group B at the CAF World Cup qualifiers will see South Sudantaking on Sudan at the Juba National Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Sudan will enter their final World Cup qualification match for the year in second place in the group standings, while the hosts are second-bottom with two points after three games.

After playing the majority of their ‘home’ games in Morocco over the last few years, the old Dar Raida Stadium has been revamped after the intervention of FIFA in March 2024 provided the necessary impetus for the project’s completion, and the new stadium will be opened this week with the president of the republic, Salva Kiir, presiding over the ceremony, and he will be joined by the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino.

Undoubtedly, the Bright Stars will want to mark the momentous occasion with a victory, and if they are able to secure all three points, it will also see them move up to fourth place in the group standings, behind Senegal, DR Congo and their opponents in this match.

Since first appearing on the international stage back in 2014, South Sudan have never reached the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. During qualifying for the last AFCON in the Ivory Coast, they ended bottom of their group, managing just three points from their six group-stage matches.

In this competition, they were beaten comprehensively by African giants Senegal in their opening match before holding a tricky Mauritania and Togo to draws in weeks two and three respectively.

While Frenchman Nicolas Dupuis has yet to win a match since taking up the head coach position in October last year, his side have made notable improvements, particularly in defence since his arrival, and are likely to prioritise keeping a clean sheet in this match.

Owing to the conflict between these nations over the years, they have only ever faced each other twice, both back in 2015 in the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup, and both games ended goalless.

Like their neighbours, Sudan also endured a poor AFCON qualifying campaign and finished bottom of their group with six points, behind DR Congo – who went on to finish fourth in the Ivory Coast – as well as Mauritania and Gabon.