Congo were outclassed and outplayed by Morocco on 11 June as the Atlas Lions hammered them 6-0 at the Stade Adrar in their 2026 FIFA World Cup? qualifier.

Olympiacos striker Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick, while Azzedine Ounahi, Chadi Riad and Soufiane Rahimi also found the back of the net as the Moroccans crushed the hosts.

A 4-2 defeat to Zambia in the opening Group E match of the 2023 World Cup qualifiers left Congo rooted to the bottom of the standings, having failed to pick up any points from their opening six games.

The poor run echoes their disappointing performance in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where the Red Devils won two and lost three of their six Group G matches to finish third and miss out on a fourth continental showpiece.

Congo's last AFCON appearance was in Equatorial Guinea in 2015, when they finished top of Group A with seven points from three games before losing 4-2 to Congo DR in the quarter-finals.

Isaac Ngata's men, who have not won in their last six outings, will be looking to start their quest for a place in Morocco on a high when they take on an opponent they met in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, losing once and drawing one of their two meetings.

Isaac Ngata's men, who have not won in their last six outings, will be looking to start their quest for a place in Morocco on a high when they take on an opponent they met in the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, losing once and drawing one of their two meetings.

Like Thursday's hosts, South Sudan also failed to make an impact in the World Cup qualifiers, going down 3-0 to Sudan when the two nations met at the Juba Stadium on 11 June.

Walieldin Khidir scored on the stroke of half-time to put Sudan ahead and swing the momentum in their favour, before Yasir Mozamil and Mohamed Abdelrahman scored in the second half to seal the result.

The defeat to Sudan means that South Sudan have now failed to win any of their four World Cup qualifiers, with two defeats and two draws to leave them fifth in Group B with two points from a possible 12.

Nicolas Dupuis' men will be looking to start their AFCON qualifying campaign on a positive note, having edged out Sao Tome and Principe on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate draw with the Falcons and True Parrots.

However, South Sudan go into Thursday's game without a win in nine consecutive matches in normal time, losing five and drawing four since their 2-1 win over Congo in March 2023.

Congo possible starting lineup:

Matimbou; Bidounga, Makosso, Passi, Andzouana; Massanga, Ndockyt, Dembi; Bassouamina, Ganvoula, Makouana

South Sudan possible starting lineup:

Mawith; Atendele, Toha, Manyang, Adebo; Morgan, Daniel; Thiago, Manase, Yuel; Okello

Prediction:Congo 2-0 South Sudan

Congo VS South Sudan stream and TV listing

International：Holasports