Chijioke Gabriel
Sudan delivered a stunning 4–0 victory over higher-ranked Nigeria in Zanzibar on Tuesday night, climbing to the top of Group D and eliminating the Super Eagles from the African Nations Championship (CHAN) with a game to spare.
Abdel Raouf Yagoub, Sudan’s creative star, scored twice in the second half, adding to Leonard Ngenge’s own goal and Walieldin Khdir’s emphatic penalty. Coach Kwesi Appiah praised his team’s “disciplined, ruthless display that stuck to our plan from the first whistle to the last.”
“We were disciplined without the ball, fast in transition, and ruthless in the box. Against a team like Nigeria, you can’t afford to switch off. Tonight, the boys executed perfectly,” Appiah told CAF media.
Nigeria began with promise, forcing early corners and seeing Raymond Tochukwu go close on 11 minutes. Anthony Ijoma thought he had opened the scoring on 22 minutes, but VAR ruled it offside.
Moments later, disaster struck. Yagoub’s shot hit the post, rebounded off Ngenge, and rolled into the Nigerian net. Just before half-time, Ngenge handled in the box, and Khdir blasted home from the spot to make it 2–0.
“We lost concentration at key moments. Once you’re chasing Sudan, they make the pitch feel very small.”
Despite three half-time substitutions, Nigeria couldn’t shift the momentum. On 55 minutes, Musa Hussien set up Yagoub to calmly finish into the bottom corner. Seven minutes later, Yagoub struck again, curling into the top-left after Sudan capitalised on a turnover.
From there, Sudan shut the game down. Khdir, Yaser Awad, and Ali Abdalla dominated midfield, while full-backs balanced attack and defence smartly. Goalkeeper Mohamed Abooja denied Steven Manyo’s late header to preserve the clean sheet.
Two games, zero goals, and five conceded — Nigeria’s CHAN campaign ends in disappointment, marked by defensive lapses, wasted chances, and weakness on the flanks.
For Sudan, the outlook is far brighter: four points from two matches, five goals scored, and just one conceded. They face Senegal next in a top-of-the-table clash, needing only a draw to advance. But Appiah insists:
“We respect Senegal, but we’re here to win every game. This result means nothing if we don’t follow it up.”
On a night when Senegal were held by Congo, Sudan’s travelling fans celebrated loudly, while Nigeria’s players left the pitch heads bowed.