Guinea call up three replacements after Guirassy withdraws from AFCON qualifiers

Guinea have suffered a major setback ahead of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Eritrea after Serhou Guirassy and two other players withdrew from Paulo Duarte’s squad.

The Guinean Football Federation has confirmed that Guirassy, Lamine Diaby Fadiga and Moriba Kourouma will miss the upcoming international fixtures, forcing head coach Duarte to make three changes to his original selection.

The Portuguese coach has responded by calling up Bertin Simitri Jacquesson, Kerfalla Dada Cissoko and Mohamed Chérif Haïdara as replacements ahead of the two encounters.

Guirassy, who plays for Borussia Dortmund, is unavailable for medical reasons, while Diaby Fadiga has been forced to withdraw because of an injury. The federation did not disclose the reason behind Kourouma’s absence.

Jacquesson, who plays for Oakland Roots in the United States, has been selected to replace Diaby Fadiga in attack.

Cissoko, who represents Russian side Rodina Moscow, will take Guirassy’s place, while Haïdara has been brought in to replace Kourouma. The defensive midfielder currently plays for Danish club Sønderjyske.

Guinea face crucial Eritrea double-header

The withdrawals come at an important stage of Guinea’s campaign, with the Syli National looking to strengthen their position in Group D of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.

After two rounds of matches, Guinea sit second in the group with three points, three behind leaders South Africa, who have collected six points from their opening fixtures.

Duarte’s side began their qualifying campaign with a 1-0 victory over Kenya before suffering a 2-1 defeat against South Africa in their second match.

The upcoming fixtures against Eritrea offer Guinea an opportunity to return to winning ways and improve their chances of securing a place at the tournament.

Guinea will host Eritrea in the first meeting on 12 November at the Stade du 28-Septembre in Conakry.

The two sides will then travel to Cairo, Egypt, where they will meet again on 16 November for the return fixture.

Duarte faces selection challenge

With three players from his original squad now unavailable, Duarte must adjust his plans ahead of the important double-header.

The coach will also have limited time to integrate the new arrivals into the team before Thursday’s opening encounter.

Guinea will be hoping the replacements can settle quickly and provide the necessary options as they look to collect maximum points from both matches.

Having already lost to group leaders South Africa, dropping further points against Eritrea could complicate their qualification campaign.