JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan’s U20 national team suffered a 4-0 defeat to Burundi in the U20 Africa Cup of Nations CECAFA qualifiers, leaving the Bright Stars with a difficult task in their remaining matches.

Burundi controlled the match and scored four goals to secure a convincing victory over South Sudan.

The defeat is a setback for South Sudan’s campaign as the team seeks qualification for the continental U20 tournament and continues efforts to develop its youth football program.

South Sudan U20 head coach Salyi Lokaku Samuel described the result as a learning experience for his players and apologized to supporters for the loss.

“Hard luck to us, and we are sorry for disappointing our country for not getting the results,” Lokaku said.

The coach urged his players to learn from the mistakes made during the match and focus on improving in their remaining fixtures.

“This is the game of football. There are always mistakes, and we learn from those mistakes,” he said.

Lokaku said his technical team would review the performance against Burundi and work with the players to address the weaknesses exposed during the match.

“I think in the next game we will try to improve on those mistakes to be able to get the results that we wanted,” he added.

The result leaves South Sudan under pressure to produce a stronger performance in their next fixture as the Bright Stars continue their campaign in the CECAFA U20 AFCON qualifiers.

The regional tournament provides young players with international competition and serves as a pathway to the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.