South Sudan's 'Bright Stars” national football team have drawn 1-1 at home to Mauritania in the first leg of an African Zone qualifier that took 19 hours to complete.

In a dramatic start to the first part of the match on Wednesday, Boubacar Bagili scored for Mauritania after three minutes and Dominic Abui Pretino equalised two minutes later. Torrential rain then forced play to be suspended Wednesday in Juba with the score 1-1 after 10 minutes.

Play resumed at 11.00 local time yesterday and the remaining 80 minutes did not produce any more goals.

That result raised South Sudanese hopes that they could defeat Mauritania, who are 55 places higher in the world rankings and beat South Africa in the Cup of Nations during September.

Football is seen as a unifying factor in South Sudan. "The national team is a great example of unity," boasted South Sudan captain Richard Justin Lado before facing Mauritania. "Players come from every ethnic group, from all over the country, and we play in harmony," added the veteran midfielder.

South Sudan debuted in the World Cup Qualifiers just a month after their first success since the team was formed three years ago - a 1-0 home victory over Equatorial Guinea in an CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Mauritania and South Sudan will meet for a second match in Nouakchott on Tuesday 13 October.