Cairo, Egypt – Sierra Leone’s national football team, the Leone Stars, suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Egypt in a crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
The decisive goal came in the 47th minute when Egypt’s Ahmed “Zizo” Sayed found the back of the net at the Cairo International Stadium.
The Pharaohs had dominated the first half, with star forward Mohamed Salah and Manchester City’s Mamoush coming close on multiple occasions.
Sierra Leone responded strongly in the second half and had a controversial penalty appeal around the 60th minute when Alhassan Bangura’s shot appeared to strike an Egyptian defender’s hand. However, with VAR not in use, the referee allowed play to continue.
The loss marks Leone Stars’ first defeat under newly appointed head coach Mohamed Kallon, following their 3-1 victory over Guinea-Bissau last Friday.
With this result, Sierra Leone remains in third place in Group A with 8 points, trailing Burkina Faso (11 points) and group leaders Egypt (16 points), who solidified their lead with the win.
