AFCON: Sudan coach Kwesi Appiah opens up on team struggles and title ambitions

Head coach Sudan senior men’s team, James Kwesi Appiah has shared thoughts on what it takes to manage the Falcons of Jediane.

Appiah, who took charge of the 1970 continental champions, qualified them for the round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco after finishing as one of the best third placed teams in Group E even before their final game against Burkina Faso on Wednesday.

Prior to taking charge, Sudan’s best AFCON result was a group stage exit at the 2021 edition in Cameroon before missing out on qualifying for the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast.

Sudan scored their first ever AFCON since 2012 following a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea in the second group E game, a result that earned them a spot in the next round.

In an interview with GTV SportsPlus, the 65-year-old Appiah shared his opinion on how much it takes to handle a conflict ravaged nation like Sudan.

“If you are not really patient you cannot be the head coach of Sudan and secondly the players have been psyched to level where they all know look, it’s not about money now, it’s about how can we sacrifice because our nation is war-torn [and] for that reason we need to do something for at least let the people back home smile a bit,” Kwesi Appiah told GTV SportsPlus.

“Because I remember when we played against Ghana and we won, for about a week all the soldiers they put down their guns and they were celebrating back home in Sudan and for me that is something that makes me happy and actually also makes the players also happy so putting smiles on the face of Sudanese is one of the ambitions of every player.

Sudan will battle Burkina in the final Group E game, a clash that determines which nation finishes in second spot behind leaders Algeria.

The former Ghana head coach believes his charges have enough qualities to go for the ultimate trophy.

“Sudan has a very good team [and] they have some mental strength that sometimes it baffles me but I think that now that we have qualified, we are aiming at the ultimate, not that let’s get out of the round 16. From the start I told them that look we are not just here to participate [but] we are here same as every team to win the trophy so that should be your mission so irrespective of whatever team we are meeting that is what I put in their heads. So we will take a game as it comes but at the end of the day, the ambition is the ultimate.”

Sudan share three points with Burkina Faso in Group E with Algeria leading the standings on six points from two matches.

Kwesi Appiah spent ten years with the Ghana national team in an assistant and head coach role, leading the four time African champions to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil where they exited at the group stage.

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