Serhou Guirassy scored the only goal as Guinea beat Kenya 1-0 in Conakry to claim their first points in the CAN 2027 qualifiers.
The Borussia Dortmund forward broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute on Thursday, 1 October, helping the Syli national recover from their opening 2-1 defeat by South Africa.
The result also marked Guinea’s return to the Stade du 28-Septembre. The national team had played several matches away from home in recent years, but the renovated stadium was authorised to host this fixture. Victory in front of their supporters carried added significance after the disappointing start to the campaign.
Kenya threatened before Guirassy’s goal, with Micah Obiero finding himself through on goal around the 10th minute. Guinea goalkeeper Mohamed Camara made the save to keep the score level, according to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) match report.
Kenya manager Benni McCarthy responded at half-time by introducing Timothy Ouma and Ryan Ogam as he sought to strengthen his side’s attack. Ogam then had an opportunity inside the Guinea penalty area in the 55th minute, but Camara intervened again to protect his team’s lead.
The visitors continued to search for an equaliser, but Guinea held on to secure a narrow victory.
South Africa set the pace
Kenya are co-hosts of CAN 2027 alongside Uganda and Tanzania and have already qualified automatically, regardless of their results in the campaign, the CAF said.
In the three qualifying groups containing the host nations, only the best-performing team from the other three sides earns a place at the tournament.
After two rounds of matches, South Africa lead the group with six points. They have scored seven goals and conceded one, following their win over Guinea and a 5-0 victory against Eritrea.
Guinea are second on three points with a goal difference of zero. Kenya and Eritrea have one point each.
The Syli national will face Eritrea twice in November, according to the qualifying schedule. They must maintain their progress if they are to stay within reach of South Africa before the teams meet again in March 2027.
Guinea began the campaign with a 2-1 defeat by South Africa on 26 September before responding with Thursday’s 1-0 win over Kenya.