Despite expecting victory, Sudan head coach Kwesi Appiah didn’t expect the kind of score line his side registered against Nigeria.
The Falcons of Jeddah beat the local Super Eagles 4-0 in a group D encounter in the TotalEnergies Africa Nations Championship which eliminated them from the tournament with one more game to play.
“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,” Appiah told reporters.
Appiah explained the game plan in simple terms: “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 play our best, we could defeat Nigeria.”
Appiah had kind words for his opponents especially coach Eric Chelle and gave him a piece of advice going forward.
“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.”
Sudan now needs to avoid defeat against Senegal in the top of the group tie in the final game to reach the quarter finals.
Action in the tournament continues on Wednesday with matches in Group D as Burkina Faso take on Mauritania while Central African Republic face Madagascar.
