Nickname: Falcons of Jediane
Fifa rank: 118
Afcon Group: E
Head coach: Kwesi Appiah
Group Stage fixtures: Algeria [Dec 24], Equatorial Guinea [Dec 28], Burkina Faso [Dec 31]
Afcon appearances: 10 [1957, 1959, 1963, 1970, 1972, 1976, 2008, 2012, 2021, 2025]
Best Afcon performance: Champions [1970]
How they qualified: From a relatively tough group F where Ghana and Angola were favourites, the 1970 champions qualified as runners up behind the latter.
Their journey included beating Ghana, Appiah’s home and they collected 8 points, five better than the Black Stars who will be watching the tournament from home.
Sudan defied odds given the civil war at home that saw football activities suspended and hosted all their matches away from home.
Shockingly, they did that by scoring just four goals and despite conceding six, they kept four clean sheets in six matches.
Realistic chance at Afcon 2025: Realistically, getting out of a tough group will be an achievement for the people of Sudan, wherever they are in the world to celebrate.
Every win, every tackle, every goal, every goal line clearance will be cheered and for a moment, Sudan could be peaceful.
The Falcons of Jediane are surely the only uniting factor of the people of Sudan at the moment.
Who is the star of the team? It is a team that works together but one stand out player is Al Hilal forward Mohamed Abdelrahman. He was part of the squad in 2021 Afcon and returns more experienced and will lead the line for the 1970 winners.
