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Four El Merriekh players make TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 qualifier squad
The South Sudan national Football team will face Congo Brazzaville in a Group K match of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 qualifier away on Thursday.
Four El Merriekh Bentiu players led by goalkeeper Juma Jenaro Award Anuk are part of the team that will battle Congo Brazzaville at the Stade Alphonse Massemba-Debat in Brazzaville.
The other El Merriekh Bentiu players summoned by head coach Nicolas Dupuis are Wani Ivan Adebo Vita, Atir Thomas Tom and Chol Peter Bentiu Daniel.
South Sudan is placed in Group K alongside Congo Brazzaville, Uganda and South Africa. The best two teams in the group will automatically qualify for the AFCON 2025 to take place in Morocco.
The head coach of El Merriekh SC Bentiu, Jean Claude Loboko has they are very focused ahead of the South Sudan Super Cup match slated for August 15th, 2026.
The 2025/2026 South Sudan Premier League champions will face Al Ghazala SC Wau in the Super Cup final at the Juba National Stadium.
“We have had several weeks of pre-season training in Uganda and also managed to play some friendly matches which helped us gauge the team well,” added Loboko.
He made it clear that they will work hard to make sure the team can get a positive result in the Cup final as they also prepare for the new season.
El Merriekh SC Bentiu will also prepare to face Somalia’s Heegan SC in the first preliminary round of the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The South Sudan champions will host the Somalian side in the first leg between September 4-6th, and the return fixture will take place September 11-13th at a venue yet to be announced.
South Sudan Premier League side, El Merriekh SC Bentiu have concluded their pre-season training in Uganda.
The team returned on Monday after defeating another Uganda Premier League side KCCA FC 2-1 in their last pre-season International friendly match played on Saturday at the MTN Omondi Stadium in Lugogo.
Head coach Jean Claude Loboko said that the weeks spent in Uganda have been very important because the team has prepared well and also played some friendly matches.
“We have had good training and we thank management for making it happen,” added the Coach.
El Merriekh SC Bentiu also managed to defeat 4th Division side Kibuli United 5-0 and Uganda Premier League side Entebbe UPPC FC 2-1.
The team returned back to Juba to start preparing for the South Sudan Super Cup slated for August 15th at the Juba National Stadium.
El Merriekh SC Bentiu registered a 2-1 victory against Uganda Premier League side, Entebbe UPPC FC in an international friendly match played on Thursday.
Gaetan Masha gave the South Sudan Premier League champions the lead from the spot at the Nsambya Yes Center.
Jonathan Gem scored El Merriekh SC Bentiu’s second goal after an assist by Tito Lukciir. The Ugandan side also netted a goal.
Head coach Jean Claude Loboko said he was happy with the way his players are responding during this pre-season training. “The matches against Kibuli United and Entebbe UPPC FC have helped us assess ourselves and also to get match practice,” added the coach.
El Merriekh SC Bentiu defeated Kibuli United 5-0 in their first international friendly played early this week.
Coach Loboko is preparing the team ahead of a busy local season and the International calendar which will see them play in the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
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