The head coach of Al Hilal, Florent Ibenge has said his team must be at it’s best when they host Al Ahly in the return leg in the quarter final stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

Ibenge’s team lost the first leg 1-0 in a match played at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday.

But Ibenge has made it clear they must be at their best and also use home advantage when they host Al Ahly on Tuesday at the Cheikha Ould Boïdiya Stadium, Nouakchott in Mauritania.

“We know Al Ahly is a good team and we now know what to do in the return leg. It will not be an easy match, but we need to be sharper at the front and also defend with a lot of caution,” added the experienced coach.

The Sudan Premier League giants who have had to play in the Mauritanian Premier League in the 2024/2025 season because of the political instability back home will count on the support in Nouakchott.

Al Hilal also boost of a fairly good record playing in Nouakchott winning against San Pedro (Ivory Coast) in the second round, against TP Mazembe and drawing against MC Alger in the Group stage, and suffering a 1-0 defeat to Tanzania’s Young Africans SC.

Al Hilal are the only team from the CECAFA Zone playing at the quarter final stage of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

The head coach of Somalia’s U-17 team Mohamed Abdulkhadir Sheikhdon has promised that his team will continue fighting on in the remaining matches at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.

Somalia suffered a 3 -0 defeat to Tunisia in their opening Group C match played at the Ben M’Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida in Morocco on Tuesday night.

But Sheikhdon has made it clear that most of his players were not used to the big stage in the opening match, but will re-group and improve in the next matches.

“We are determined to keep fighting in the remaining two Group matches because we know what we should do to be able to progress in the competition,” added the Somalia coach.

Somalia will next face The Gambia on April 4^th in their second Group C match. The Gambia also suffered a 1-0 defeat to reigning champions Senegal in their opening match.

In Group A the other teams from the CECAFA Zone Uganda and Tanzania have all suffered defeats. Uganda Cubs suffered a 5-0 loss to hosts Morocco, while Tanzania lost 4-1 to Zambia.

The top 10 teams at the U-17 AFCON which ends on April 19th will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar as the CAF representatives.

Tanzania have suffered a 4-1 defeat to Zambia in their first Group A match at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

After a defensive lapse by the Tanzanian team Jonathan Kalimina gave the Junior Chipolopolo the lead after only 8 minutes at the El Bachir Stadium, Mohammedia.

Captained by Kassim Juma Tanzania tried to re-organise  themselves and started to create some chances up-front through Jabiri Farijala and Juma Abushiri.

But before the interval Abel Nyirongo made it 2-0 for Zambia after picking a good cross from Nthasilwe Malupande.

After the break Tanzania returned charged and determined to get some goals as they had Juma Sagwe’s shot saved.

But the highly passing Zambian side continued to push forward and Mike Mutale netted their third goal after 79 minutes. Sagwe finally pulled a goal back for Tanzania with a well-timed header that beat Zambia’s goalkeeper Rogers Simumba.

Substitute Gabriel Phiri increased Zambia’s lead with the clock ticking away.

Tanzania will return to action on Thursday with a match against fellow CECAFA side Uganda. The Uganda Cubs lost their opening Group A match 5-0 to hosts Morocco on Sunday night.

Sudan giants Al Hilal are set to face Egypt’s Al Ahly in the first leg of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday night.

Florent Ibenge, the Al Hilal coach has made it clear that the first leg will be very important because it sets the ground for the return leg.

“We know that Al Ahly are a big team that has won several trophies on the continent, but we have tactically prepared and know how we must handle the match. This round is won over two legs and that is what we have prepared for,” says Ibenge.

Although Al Hilal have been disadvantaged to play all their home matches away from Khartoum because of the political instability back in Sudan, they have showed stability and only lost two matches in all 10 matches they have played in the initial stages going into the quarter final.

Al Hilal, the only team in the CECAFA Zone playing in the quarter final stage will look to skipper Muhamed Abdelrahman to lead the team in hunt for goals together with Adam Coulibaly and Burundian International Jean Claude Girumugisha.

To reach the quarter final stage Al Hilal ejected Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya) and San Pedro (Ivory Coast) in the first and second rounds respectively. They went on to top Group A that MC Alger (Algeria), Young Africans SC (Tanzania) and DR Congo’s TP Mazembe.

The other quarter final matches to be played on Tuesday include Pyramids facing AS FAR, Mamelodi Sundowns battling against Esperance de Tunis, and MC Alger taking on Orlando Pirates.