Equatorial Guinea defeated Sierra Leone 1-0 on Monday to leave the Leone Stars without a point from their opening two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
Loren Zúñiga scored the decisive goal inside the opening minute, giving Equatorial Guinea an early advantage that they successfully protected until the final whistle.
Sierra Leone struggled to respond despite trailing for virtually the entire match, failing to create enough clear-cut opportunities to find an equaliser.
The Leone Stars had also suffered a 3-2 defeat to Zimbabwe in their opening Group E fixture.
They led that game 2-0 through Alie Conteh and Sallieu Tarawallie before Zimbabwe scored three goals in the second half to complete the comeback.
Monday’s defeat extended Sierra Leone’s difficult run in AFCON qualifying, with the team now without a victory in their last eight qualifying matches.
The run comprises six defeats and two draws since June 2023.
Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, recorded their second consecutive 1-0 victory over Sierra Leone in the competition, having also won by the same scoreline when the sides met at the 2021 AFCON in January 2022.
Sierra Leone will next face São Tomé and Príncipe in their upcoming home-and-away qualifiers, while Equatorial Guinea are scheduled to play Liberia in their next two matches.
