GhanaWeb Feature

When the draw for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers was made, one fixture that stood out and understandably got the attention of not just the Ghanaian media but the African football media was the Group F fixture between Ghana and Sudan.

The interest generated by this fixture at the time was due to a number of factors, chief of which is the fact that Sudan is being led by a Ghanaian coach who has coached the Black Stars on multiple occasions and is still a member of the highest decision-making body in Ghana football (GFA Executive Council).

Another factor that set up this tie for an interesting battle was that Kwasi Appiah had hit the ground running in Sudan, with the country achieving surprisingly impressive results in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

At the time the draw was made in July, Sudan were leaders of their World Cup qualifying group, a position they still occupy in the CAF segment of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In four games played in the qualifying series, Kwasi Appiah’s Sudan have won three and drawn one, recording no defeats.

The incredible performance of the Sudanese national team in the qualifiers has raised questions about why and how the most accomplished active Ghanaian coach (relative to the Black Stars) was overlooked for the relatively novice Otto Addo.

The even more interesting factor was that Kwasi Appiah, a football colossus in Kumasi and a current servant of one of Asanteman’s cherished institutions, Kumasi Asante Kotoko (Kwasi Appiah is a member of the Interim Management Committee running Asante Kotoko currently), was going to lead a team to play against a Black Stars team and GFA administration who are quite unpopular in Kumasi, which until a CAF ban in September was the de-facto home venue for the Black Stars.

While these factors and motivations built up the fixture to be an exciting contest, there was no cause for alarm from the Ghanaian perspective. A month before July, when the draw for the AFCON qualifiers was made, the Black Stars, contrary to expectations, had gone to Bamako to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Mali. They then followed up that important away victory with a dramatic 4-3 win over the Central African Republic at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium to ensure that they picked three wins from four matches in the World Cup qualifiers.



So as far as Ghanaians were concerned at the time, the first leg of the fixture between Ghana and Sudan was nothing more than a homecoming and a battle of superiority between former Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah and current Ghana coach Otto Addo.

The start to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers has, however, changed the dynamics, with the game evolving from a mere battle in the dugout to a crucial match whose result will be highly consequential to Ghana’s chances of making an appearance in Morocco as one of the countries participating in the 2025 AFCON.

An underwhelming start to the campaign has seen Ghana pick just one point from two matches, with a defeat to Angola at home and a draw away to Niger putting the players and coach Otto Addo under intense pressure.

Unlike Ghana, Sudan have picked three points from their opening two matches. Kwasi Appiah's side began the series with a 1-0 win over Niger before losing on the road to Angola.

With Ghana now sitting third with one point and a minus-one goal difference, a win against Kwasi Appiah’s Sudan has become non-negotiable. The Black Stars need to win at home and at least secure a draw in the reverse fixture in Libya to put their qualifying hopes on track.

Anything other than a win on Thursday, October will increase the pressure on Otto Addo and give Kwasi Appiah’s side a major confidence booster ahead of the reverse game, which sets up this game for a thrilling contest.




EK