It is a critical point for the Sierra Leone national team as the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign will reach its midway point after the Leone Stars face Guinea-Bissau in Thursday's Group A clash. Set for a 16:00 GMT kick off, the Leone Stars will host Os Djurtus at their adopted home of the Samuel Kanyon Doe Complex in Paynesville in neighboring Liberia.
Group A Table (4 matches played)
Points | |
Egypt | 10 |
Guinea-Bissau | 6 |
Burkina Faso | 5 |
Sierra Leone | 5 |
Ethiopia | 3 |
Djibouti | 1 |
The group winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Four of the nine group runners-up qualify for a playoff to determine Africa's representative at the intercontinental qualifying playoff.
With a lot on the line, this Leone Stars team looks much different from the team that concluded a disappointing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. A new head coach is in charge after national footballing legend Mohamed Kallon signed on for head coaching duties with several new players based in the country's top flight in the camp.
40-year-old striker Kei Kamara is also involved after over three months without a club since ending his tenure with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles FC. However, the player every Sierra Leonean will be watching is 18-year-old Juma Bah.
Recently signed by Manchester City and loaned to French Ligue 1 side Lens, the central defender's rise is one of the most if not the most impressive story this season in world football. After time spent with Freetonians SLIFA in Sierra Leone, Bah was signed by Spanish La Liga club Real Valladolid in August 2024 and hardly spent any time with the club's reserve team before jumping into first team duty and quickly delivering performances that led to his massive Man City move.
While there is certainly a massive amount of pressure when making your debut at a level such as La Liga or Ligue 1, it is a different sort of pressure when carrying the hopes of your nation in World Cup qualifying. Yet that is what is being asked of Bah who is expected to step right into the eleven of coach Kallon when a likely debut arrives for Sierra Leone on Thursday.
Having previously been called to the senior team last year, Bah took a back seat to players such as veteran leader, previous captain and former Queens Park Rangers player Steven Caulker. However, the decision of Caulker to withdraw his name from consideration with the national side now means that the opportunity has arrived for Bah at a time when his nation needs him most.
The Leone Stars leaked goals during 2025 AFCON qualifying with ten goals conceded in six matches. Even then, players based abroad formed a large part of the defensive unit but that is not the case in March. Now largely domestic-based, Bah and Hartford Athletic flank player Emmanuel Samadia are the only listed defenders based abroad leaving the goal preventing responsibilities largely on the young shoulders of Bah.
Expectations are low for Sierra Leone but Bah represents a not-so-secret weapon whose senior national team debut will perhaps be one of the most highly anticipated in the history of African national team football. Bah will likely be matched up with Everton FC's Beto, a physically imposing bull of a striker who will provide an excellent test and an example of what English Premier League life would be like on a weekly basis if Bah eventually gets his opportunity with Manchester City.
With an underwhelming supporting cast, it is likely too much to ask for Bah to stand out on Thursday and especially in the second match of the March window when Sierra Leone travels to face heavy Group A favorites Egypt. However, there is nothing to lose for this Leone Stars group and Bah's first appearances with the senior team will serve as an excellent lesson and chapter in his young career as he continues his expected rapid rise through the ranks of world football.
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