CHAN: Appiah wasn’t expecting scoreline but knew Sudan could beat Nigeria

Sudan national team coach Kwesi Appiah has admitted he was surprised with the final scoreline of their 4-0 TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) demolition of Nigeria at New Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar on Tuesday.

Abdel Raouf Yagoub struck twice after the break to add to an early Leonard Ngenge own goal and Walieldin Khdir’s penalty, capping a ruthless, disciplined display that left Nigeria bottom with zero points from two matches.

“I was surprised with the performance of some of my players. If you noticed, my changes came deep into the second half because everyone was playing really well,” explained the Ghanaian coach after the game as quoted by CAFOnline.com.

We knew it was going to be tough, especially the first 20 minutes. Our tactical play was to absorb pressure and hit them on the counter. I wasn’t expecting the scoreline, but I knew if we played our best, we could defeat Nigeria.”

Discussing Eric Chelle’s Super Eagles’s squad, Appiah said: “I think the home-based Super Eagles aren’t that bad. On the whole, tactically, they played well.

“The coach only needs to do some polishing with the attack. The first game against Senegal wasn’t that bad; in the second game, they had stints of possession, but our approach helped us.”

The result not only sealed Sudan’s place as serious contenders but also brought an abrupt end to Nigeria’s dreams of lifting the trophy for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 2009.