The Leone Stars of Sierra Leone on Monday, September 28, 2026, suffered another setback in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign after losing 1–0 to Equatorial Guinea in their second Group E match.

The defeat leaves Sierra Leone without a point from their opening two matches, following their dramatic 3–2 loss to Zimbabwe in the group opener.

On Thursday, September 24, 2026, the Leone Stars had made a promising start against Zimbabwe, racing into a two-goal lead through Alie Conteh and Sallieu Tarawallie before conceding three second-half goals to surrender the advantage.

Against Equatorial Guinea, however, Sierra Leone were unable to find the attacking spark needed to rescue their campaign, with the hosts securing a narrow 1-0 victory.

The result puts additional pressure on the new Sierra Leone coach, Didier Gomes Da Rosa, who’s looking forward to reviving the Leone Stars’ qualification hopes and ending a four-year absence from the AFCON finals.

Sierra Leone’s latest setback also continues a difficult recent run against Equatorial Guinea, who have proved a challenging opponent in previous competitive meetings.

However, with two defeats from two matches, the Leone Stars now face a difficult road ahead in Group E and will need a strong response in their remaining fixtures to stay in contention for a place at the 2027 tournament.