Senegal registered their second-straight victory under head coach Patrick Vieira after they defeated Comoros 1-0 in a FIFA international friendly at the Stade Velodrome on Sunday.
After making several changes to the starting XI, Vieira saw the Lions of Teranga benefit from a first-half goal from Manchester City winger Iliman Ndiaye to carry the day.
Among the notable changes from Vieira included captain Kalidou Koulibaly starting alongside Mamadou Sarr in central defence, assisted by Nobel Mendy.
Senegal score within five minutes
Bara Sapoko Ndiaye, Issa Soumare and Ndiaye were also included in the starting XI. Senegal needed only five minutes to find the back of the net when Ndiaye finished off a cross from Ibrahim Mbaye.
Comoros threatened with their own opportunities, with the best one falling to Housseine Zakouani, whose superb volley went over the bar.
Adel Anzimati-Aboudou was called upon to make a good save to deny Mbaye from doubling Senegal’s lead before Zakouani wasted another chance for Comoros after failing to beat Mory Diaw.
The friendly came after Senegal had played two matches in their opening round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Senegal secured a 1-1 draw against Mozambique, before recovering in matchday two to edge out Ethiopia 1-0.
Uganda floor D.R Congo
In another friendly at FNB Stadium in South Africa, Uganda registered a 2-0 victory over D.R. Congo.
James Bogere and Kelvin Boateng scored on either side of half-time to hand coach Paul Put’s side a memorable win against the Congolese outfit.
Bogere opened the scoring in the first half after pressing high to intercept a pass from the DR Congo goalkeeper before calmly slotting the ball into the net.
The Cranes maintained their advantage into the second half, with Kelvin Boateng Owusu doubling the lead following a brilliant driving run and assist from Abdoulaye Sissako.
The goal marked Boateng’s first in Uganda Cranes colours. Defensively, Uganda delivered a disciplined performance, with Paul Put deploying a back three comprising Geoffrey Lubangakene, David Akpan Udoh and Gavin Kizito.
The DR Congo team fielding new players Ezechiel Banzuzi (RB Leipzig, Germany), Willy Kambwala (Como, Italy), Jordy Makengo (Freiburg, Germany) and Stephy Mavididi (Watford, England) tried to fight back to find goals, but Uganda defenders stood strong.
The defensive unit helped the Cranes keep a clean sheet and secure the victory. Uganda and D.R. Congo will face each other on Friday, October 5th in another friendly at the same venue.
The two teams are using the friendly matches to test players and also prepare ahead of round two of the AFCON 2027 qualifying matches slated for November.
DR Congo are top of Group E in the AFCON qualifiers after defeating Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, while Uganda are also top of Group H after picking a draw away to Tunisia and stopping Libya 1-0 a few days ago.
