“Nothing is impossible in football, who knew Ivory Coast would win the competition? They were nearly eliminated, but they came back to win the Afcon 2023,” James Kwesi Appiah said in an interview on AKOMA FM in Kumasi on Monday afternoon.
It will be bigger than Greece’s gigantic and terrific triumph in Euro 2004 when they defied all odds and shocked everyone to lift the European Cup under Otto Rehhagel.
Zambia was nowhere near the favourites but manoeuvred their way under Herve Renard and lifted AFCON 2012. It was so shocking. These two triumphs are the source of inspiration for Sudan in the 2025 AFCON.
This is the dream Ghanaian head coach who punched above his weight and secured a slot for the Falcons of Jediane of Sudan in the 2025 AFCON to be played in Morocco.
Winning a trophy in North Africa has been a huge task recently for those outside the region as North Africans have all won the last three AFCONS played there.
AFCON in North AFRICA
It will be the 12th time the AFCON will be played in North Africa. The first in North Africa was in 1959 hosted by United Arab Republic – then Egypt and Syria and the host won it. The second was hosted by Tunisia in 1965 with the Black Stars of Ghana beating the host 3-2 to win their first-ever title.
Egypt in 1974 hosted the 3rd AFCON in North Africa, Zaire (DR Congo) lifted the trophy by beating Zambia 2-0.
Libya in 1982 hosted the 4th edition in North Africa with Ghana beating the host on penalties (7-6) after 1-1 in 120 minutes.
The 5th North African AFCON was played in Egypt and Egypt won 5-4 on penalties against Cameroon after a goalless draw in 120 minutes.
Cameroon won the 6th edition in Morocco in 1988 with a 1-0 victory over Nigeria as Algeria in 1990 hosted and won by beating Nigeria 1-0 in Algiers in the finals of the 7th edition.
Nigeria won their first AFCON in North Africa in 1994 in Tunisia with a 2-1 triumph over Zambia.
The 9th edition in North Africa was hosted by Tunisia in 2004. The Eagles of Carthage defeated Morocco 2-1 in a feisty contest in Tunis.
2006 was the tenth edition hosted by Egypt. The Pharaohs beat Ivory Coast 4-2 on penalties after both sides failed to score in 120 minutes.
The last AFCON in North Africa was in 2019 in Egypt where Algeria lifted their second title with a 1-0 win over Senegal.
East African AFCON triumphs
North, West and Central African nations have only lifted the competition on North African soil so Sudan has a huge task at hand to break the jinx of no Eastern African side winning the competition over there. Ethiopia (1962) and Sudan (1970) remain the only two nations from the EAST to win AFCON.
Kwesi Appiah’s Sudan, ranked 113th by FIFA, will steal much attention during the tournament due to the civil war in the country and the manner they qualified ahead of the star-studded Ghana in the qualifiers.
Sudan’s sudden rise
Sudan’s sudden rise is so incredible to the extent that AL-Hilal Omdurman who is playing their home games in Mauritania is the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the ongoing CAF Champions League.
Sudan is a pioneer in African football but failed to keep up with their peers due to instability in the country which has bedevilled them for decades. After the 1970 triumph, their best performance was reaching the quarter-finals in 2012 when they were easily thrashed by eventual winners Zambia 3-0 in Bata.
It took them 9 years to qualify for the next one after 2012. Sudan was in Cameroon in 2021 and exited in the group stage as expected after drawing goalless against Guinea Bissau and losing 3-1 to Nigeria and 1-0 against Egypt.
It will be the 10th AFCON for the East Africans and they will have nothing at all to lose in Morocco. Sudan does not boast of stars in the game but Kwesi Appiah has been able to unbelievably blend the few good players at his disposal and has proven against the big boys in 2024 that they have what it takes to shock anyone.
“By God’s grace, we have qualified, we will prepare very well and ensure that we have a strong team before the AFCON, as I already stated, in any competition we enter, we will go all out to win, “Kwesi Appiah said.
With all the odds against them in the qualifiers, Kwesi Appiah needed to work on the mentalities of his lads. The country was in the middle of a disastrous war, they had zero mentality in football because football had been paused in the country.
How were they going to fare against the rising Angola, the evergreen Ghana and the lowly Niger led by the experienced Ezaki Baddou.
Sudan fought extremely well and qualified, credit must be given to Appiah for going all out against all the difficult sides that he has come across recently.
“I don’t believe in the idea of taking part in a competition with the mindset that you think you’ll be eliminated in the first round, instead, once you’re in, you aim for the cup rather than coming out with nothing.
“And, as I always say, football has matured, and no team should be underestimated,” Appiah concluded.
Kwesi Appiah has made it clear that Sudan will not be in Morocco to add up to the numbers but rather to compete.
No team should be underestimated indeed because of what has happened to Ghana in the last two AFCONs after the Black Stars failed to beat Comoros, Gabon, Cape Verde and Mozambique, you will thank him for letting all the big boys know what lies ahead in Morocco.
The big boys will come to the 2025 AFCON fully focused on the trophy. Sudan will learn their opponents soon. It will take something special for Sudan to even go past the quarter-finals.
Muhamed Abdelrahman, Abo Eisa, Walieldin Khedr, Ramadan Agab, Mohamed Mustapha, Abdelrahman Kuku, Yagoub Omer and Mohamed Abuaagla are the backbone of Appiah’s team.
No superstar, no famous player no problem for Appiah but winning AFCON 2025 by Sudan is very impossible, even though football is full of uncertainties.
Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be possible than lifting the 36th edition of AFCON.
Teams Kwesi Appiah will fight against in 2025
Morocco (hosts), Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cameroon, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
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