In a top-of-the-table battle, Sudan and Senegal will clash at the Benina Martyrs Stadium in neutral Libya on Saturday evening in round five of their 2026 World Cup qualifying series in Africa.

The Falcons of Jediane have emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the campaign, sitting top of Group B with 10 points, two ahead of the Teranga Lions in second place.

In a strong position to qualify for their first-ever World Cup, with three wins and a draw, Sudan’s remarkable journey in the ongoing qualifying rounds did not begin in the most emphatic fashion.

The Northeast Africans were held to a 1-1 draw by Togo in their opening game in November 2023, as Mohamed Eisa‘s early penalty was cancelled out by Kevin Denkey‘s strike just before the break.

Since then, Sudan have been flawless in the qualifiers, edging Congo DR 1-0 three days later before dispatching Mauritania and South Sudan with 2-0 and 3-0 victories, respectively, in their June 2024 double-header.

That impressive run carried into their African Cup of Nations preliminaries, where they finished second in Group F with eight points from two wins, two draws and two defeats to secure a spot in the tournament in Morocco.

Sudan also made it to the African Nations Championship after overcoming Ethiopia 4-1 on aggregate, after a second shot at qualification following a penalty shootout loss to co-hosts Tanzania after both sides had won 1-0 on home soil.