TotalEnergies CAF CHAN 2024: Know Your Team: Sudan
Sudan is one of the teams that could surprise at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa African Nations Championship (CHAN), as the Falcons of Jediane seek to shine in their third participation in the competition.
The Sudanese national team managed to prove its capabilities and book its place among the best teams in the African continent, to ensure its participation in the finals of the CHAN 2024, which will be hosted by Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.
Sudan achieved their best continental achievement in 1970, when they won the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Factfile
Nickname: Falcons of Jediane
Number of appearances: 2 (Sudan 2011, Algeria 2022)
Best finish: Third place in 2011
FIFA Rank: 113
How Sudan qualified
Sudan qualified for the finals of the 2024 CHAN after playing two rounds in the continental qualifiers.
In the first round, they beat Tanzania in the first leg 1-0, before losing in a match in Tanzania 1-0, and qualifying on penalties for the second round of qualifiers.
In the second round, Sudan beat Ethiopia 2-0 in the first leg, before conceding the second leg in Benghazi, Libya, 1-0, but winning 2-1 to qualify for the finals.
Head coach: Kwesi Appiah
Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah will lead Sudan to the 2024 CHAN. The Sudanese Football Association contracted Ghanaian coach, 64, to lead the side in September 2023, succeeding Moroccan coach Badou Zaki, who left Sudan after failing to lead the team to the finals of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire 2023.
Appiah previously coached several clubs, such as the Ghanaian outfit Asante Kotoko and the Sudanese club Khartoum between 2014 and 2017, where he achieved remarkable success.
Former Ghana international Appiah coached Ghana from 2012 to 2014 and played a big role in their qualification for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He led them for a second time too between 2017 and 2020.
Top Player: Mohamed Abdel Rahman ‘Al-Ghorbal’
The striker of the Sudanese club Al-Hilal is the most prominent player of the Sudanese national team, and the third highest scorer for Sudan.
Rahman has a lot of experience due to his experience with clubs in Sudan and abroad, which will undoubtedly benefit the Falcons of Jediane during the 2024 CHAN finals.
Past history for SudanThe 2024 CHAN will be the third participation of Sudan in the continental tournament. The first appearance of the Falcons of Jediane was in 2011 during the edition hosted by Sudan, and the last in Algeria 2022.
Sudan's best result was in the 2011 edition, when they finished third.
Did you know?
Coach Kwesi Appiah will make his debut in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) after participating in major continental and global finals, such as the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals and the FIFA World Cup with Ghana.