The Sudan U-23 national team stopped Benin 2-0 in the first leg preliminary round match of the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier on Sunday.

Noah Algozoli put the hosts ahead at the stroke of half time at the Al Hilal Stadium in Khartoum.

After the interval the visitors tried to fight back, but failed to find goals. Ali ‘Kabba’ Abdullalah netted the second goal for Sudan after 65 minutes.

In the other matches played by teams from the CECAFA region Tanzania played to a 1-1 draw against the visiting Nigeria team at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium last Saturday.

Rwanda also drew 1-1 against Mali in a match played at the Huye Stadium. Uganda who were meant to fac Guinea withdrew from the qualifiers because of financial challenges.

The return legs will be played this weekend. The winner on aggregate will proceed to the next round of the U-23 AFCON qualifying campaign.

The U-23 AFCON to be held in Morocco in November 2023, will determine Africa’s flag bearers at the Men’s Football Tournament of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

_{CECAFA teams South Sudan and Tanzania have been drawn to face off in the first round of the qualifiers of the TotalEnergies U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023.}

_{The draw conducted on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt has only six CECAFA members who registered drawn to play in the qualifiers. Ethiopia have been drawn to face DR Congo, while Rwanda will take on Libya.}

_{The winner between Tanzania and South Sudan will battle Nigeria in the second round}.

_{Uganda and Sudan who have better ranking points will wait to start their campaign in the second round. Sudan will face Benin, while Uganda take on Guinea.}

_{According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the first leg and second leg matches will be played between September 19 – 27th, 2022. Morocco will hos the AFCON U-23 event in 2023.}

_{First Round}

_{M. 1 & 2: Guinea-Bissau vs Niger}

_{M. 3 & 4: Tanzania vs South Sudan}

_{M. 5 & 6: Eswatini vs Botswana}

_{M. 7 & 8: Mauritania vs Togo}

_{M. 9 & 10: Ethiopia vs DR Congo}

_{M. 11 & 12: Mozambique vs Mauritius}

_{M. 13 & 14: Burkina Faso vs Gambia}

_{M. 15 & 16: Libya vs Rwanda}

_{M. 17 & 18: Madagascar vs Seychelles}

_{M. 19 & 20: Angola vs Namibia}

_{Second Round}

_{M. 21 & 22: Winner 1 & 2 / Côte d’Ivoire}

_{M. 23 & 24: Sudan vs Benin}

_{M. 25 & 26: Winner 3 & 4 vs Nigeria}

_{M. 27 & 28: Guinea vs Uganda}

_{M. 29 & 30: Winner 5 & 6 vs Egypt}

_{M. 31 & 32: Sierra Leone vs Zambia}

_{M. 33 & 34: Winner 7 & 8 vs South Africa}

_{M. 35 & 36: Congo vs Tunisia}

_{M. 37 & 38: Winner 9 & 10 vs Algeria}

_{M. 39 & 40: Winner 11 & 12 vs Ghana}

_{M. 41 & 42: Winner 13 & 14 vs Senegal}

_{M. 43 & 44: Winner 15 & 16 vs Mali}

_{M. 45 & 46: Winner 17 & 18 vs Gabon}

_{M. 47 & 48: Winner 19 & 20 vs Cameroon}

_{Third Round}

_{M. 49 & 50: Winner 21/22 vs winner 23/24}

_{M. 51 & 52: Winner 25/26 vs winner 27/28}

_{M. 53 & 54: Winner 29/30 vs winner 31/32}

_{M. 55 & 56: Winner 33/34 vs winner 35/36}

_{M. 57 & 58: Winner 37/38 vs winner 39/40}

_{M. 59 & 60: Winner 41/42 vs winner 43/44}

_{M. 61 & 62: Winner 45/46 vs winner 47/48}