The Sudan Coach Kwesi Appiah has lambasted the Nigeria’s technical ineptitude after dismantling the team 4-0 at African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024.
He acknowledged and extolled the team’s talent while insisting they need better coaching.
The match took place on Tuesday and the team composition was largely Nigerian Professional Football League players with Eric Chelle at the vanguard of the campaign as head coach but sadly crashed out of the tournament after subdued and humiliated by Sudan.
The embarrassing defeat was a shocker in which Eric Chelle described as “the worst” he had overseen and decried the team’s inability to deliver the anticipated outcome.
Nigeria started well at the preliminary stage of the match with massive momentum ready to crush their opponent even with an early goal from Anthony Ijoma only to be annulled by VAR.
The dramatic twist altered the course of the game and energised Sudan, scoring their opening goal in the 25th minute which was an own goal aided by Leonard Ngenge. In the passage of minutes, just before the halftime, they doubled down their lead when Walieldin Khidir scored from a penalty, putting Sudan 2-0 ahead at the break.
Nigeria witnessed tsunami in the second half with two goals from Ahmed Tabanja in quick succession, with the third at the 55th minute and then the fourth at the 62nd minute, sealing at this point the irreversible victory.
After the game, the Ghanaian coach, Appiah stated on his X that “The Nigerian team is not bad. They just need better coaching,”. He admitted Nigeria having some quality but lack tactical approach.
The Sudan tactician praised his team’s disciplined approach, noting how they absorbed pressure in the first 20 minutes before effectively counter-attacking. The outcome of the match left Appiah stunned also as he admitted he did not expect such a wide margin but insisted his team did their work well.
The resounding victory elevated Sudan to the top of their group on goal difference.Nigeria disappointingly exited the tournament with zero points and not even a goal scored, a poor record which does not befit the team.
