CAPE TOWN : Senegal struggled without several key players as they drew 0-0 with Sudan on Saturday and failed to topple their opponents from first place in their World Cup qualifying group.
Sudan top Group B with 11 points from five matches, one more than second-placed Democratic Republic of Congo and two more than Senegal, who have drawn three of their five games.
Senegal were without Premier League pair Nicolas Jackson and Iliman Ndiaye as well as Ligue 1 striker Habib Diarra, leaving Sadio Mane to struggle in attack as they searched for the victory that would have put them top of the group.
Sudan had the best chance in the game, played in neutral Benghazi, Libya because of the civil war in Sudan, but Walieldin Khdir missed from close range in the 75th minute
Earlier on Saturday, Togo striker Kevin Denkey, who recently moved to Major League Soccer in the U.S, grabbed a 69th minute equaliser to help his side draw 2-2 at home to Mauritania.
It left both teams searching for a first win in Group B with Togo in fourth with four points and Mauritania fifth on two.
Saturday’s two matches brought up the halfway mark in the African preliminaries for the 2026 finals in North America.
A sixth round of qualifiers will be played from Sunday to Tuesday after which there will be four matchdays left in September and October.
The top placed team in the nine African groups qualify for next year’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
The four best placed runners-up will chase a possible further place at the finals.
(This story has been refiled to add a dropped word in the headline)
