Being fully alert and concentrated for the full match will be the deciding factor on who walks away with the victory in Thursday’s TotalEnergies African Nations Championship Group C encounter between Ghana and Sudan.
These were the sentiments of Sudan’s head coach, Burhan Eldin Tia who was speaking from the Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine ahead of his opening clash against a wounded Ghana.
“We have been hard at training for the past couple of weeks. We had a training camp in Tunisia before coming here and have been hard at work in preparation for this clash. They are obviously coming into the match after a loss which makes them dangerous, but we believe that being fully concentrated for the full match will be the difference in this match,” said a confident Tia.
Just like Ghana, Sudan is no strangers to the tournament, with their best finishes being a bronze medal in the 2011 and 2018 editions respectively.
With a tough encounter against a wounded Ghana side, the Sudanese coach said he was not concerned with the fact that Ghana may have better match fitness compared to them.
“This is a competition and there are no easy games. The fact that they played doesn’t mean anything to us because the result is decided on the field of play on that particular match. We are not concerned with what our opponents have or have not done. Ours is to give it our all and give the Sudanese people something to be proud of” concluded the coach.
Sudan captain, Mohamed Abd Alrahman echoed his coach’s sentiments, saying that the CHAN tournament is important for the people of Sudan as well as themselves as players.
“We think the same way as the coach. There is no easy game and all the teams that are here are good enough to compete. We are not too concerned about what other teams have done and have not done. We need to do what we know best tomorrow and make our people proud. The competition is also important to the players because it affords us a chance to showcase our talent”, said Alrahman.
The skipper went on to applaud CAF and Algeria for a well-organized tournament and warm hospitality that they have enjoyed during the stay.
“I would like to salute the people of Algeria for the warm hospitality that we have enjoyed here. It shows the tight relations they have with Sudanese people. The tournament is well organized so far, with the stadiums and training facilities being in good condition. I would like to thank the organizers”, said the captain.
Kick Off for Ghana and Sudan fixture will be at 20h00 GMT.
