Preview: Togo vs Sudan - prediction, team news, lineups

Round eight of the CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers sees Togo and Sudan renew hostilities at the Stade de Kegue on Tuesday evening.

With little to play for having been mathematically eliminated from the pursuit of a place in North America next year, the hosts will be keen to get their first victory of the qualifiers against a visiting side who are very much still in contention.

Match preview

Sudan kicked off their World Cup qualifying journey with 10 points from the first 12 available to put themselves in a strong position just shy of the midway point.

Consecutive draws against Senegal and South Sudan back in March slowed James Kwesi Appiah's men down before they finally suffered their first defeat of the qualifiers against Senegal on Friday.

After going behind to Kalidou Koulibaly's early opener, Sudan were left with a mountain to climb four minutes shy of half time, when Pape Sarr netted his third international goal to double the deficit.

The Falcons of Jediane have now fallen three points behind Senegal and four behind leaders Congo DR, although there is still all to play for heading into the final three matches between now and mid-October.

Tuesday's visitors will head to Lome on a run of three straight defeats, highlighting their recent downward spiral off the back of a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions prior.

Needing a win to retain any hopes of securing only a second-ever World Cup ticket, Togo were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by Mauritania in Friday's meeting at Nouadhibou Municipal Stadium.

Goals in either half from Papa Ndiaga Yade and Aly Abeid condemned Dare Nibombe's men to a second straight defeat without finding the back of the net after a toothless display.

Les Eperviers have seen their run of matches without a win across all competitions extend to four, dating back to 2024 when they ran out 3-0 victors over Equatorial Guinea in their final AFCON qualifier, albeit all to no avail.

A meagre tally of four points from seven qualifiers so far has Togo bottom but one in Group B, eight points behind their next opponents ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

The West Africans will take huge confidence from avoiding defeat in their most recent outing against Sudan back in November, which ended in a 1-1 draw as the teams played out a second straight stalemate from as many matches.

Back on home turf for the first time since a 2-2 draw against Mauritania in March, Tuesday's hosts have the opportunity to go unbeaten in front of their fans for the fifth game running before entertaining the challenge of DR Congo in October.

Togo World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Togo form (all competitions):

Sudan World Cup Qualifying - Africa form:

Sudan form (all competitions):

Team News

Now up to 87 caps, Djene Dakonam's next appearance will see him move level with Emmanuel Adebayor in second place on the Togo all-time appearances charts.

Making his return to the international scene for the first time since June 2024, Steven Mensah was given the nod to feature in goal last time out and is expected to retain his place.

Abdelrahman Kuku was subbed off at half time in Sudan's defeat to Senegal last time out following an ineffective display, which should cost the 26-year-old a starting berth in Tuesday's encounter.

Ali Hussein came on for Kuku in the aforementioned game and would be the favourite to get the nod in midfield alongside veteran Salaheldin Adil.

Abuaagla Abdalla and Saifeldin Malik are back in contention for the away side after missing out on Friday, although neither is likely to feature from the off here.

Togo possible starting lineup:

Mensah; Drakpe, Boma, Fofana, Hackman; Djene, Aziangbe, Dermane, Klidje; Laba, Denkey

Sudan possible starting lineup:

Abooja; Khamis, Karshoum, Ahmed, Boshara; A Eisa, Adil, Hussein, Khidir; Omer, M Eisa

We say: Togo 1-2 Sudan

Neither team have been great at the back of late, so we are anticipating goals at both ends.

That said, the onus is more on Sudan to claim maximum points given their World Cup ambitions, and we just about fancy the visitors to get the job done.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.