Sudan and Senegal have booked their places in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 quarter-finals after a tense goalless draw at Amaan Stadium on Tuesday night.
The result, which saw Sudan top Group D on goal difference, also confirmed the elimination of a disappointed Nigerian side.
The match between the two Group D giants was billed as a high-stakes encounter, and it delivered on the drama, if not the goals. Kwesi Appiah’s revitalised Sudan, fresh from a stunning 4-0 demolition of Nigeria, came into the game confident and organised.
They traded chances with a determined Senegalese side, with both goalkeepers tested in a fierce midfield battle that saw Senegal’s Pape Badji and Sudan’s Abdel Raouf Yagoub both going close.
The drama reached a crescendo just before halftime when Sudan’s penalty appeals were dismissed by VAR, adding to the intensity.
The second half was a mirror of the first—physical, fast-paced, and fiercely contested. Senegal were reduced to ten men in stoppage time when Mbaye Yaya Ly was shown a second yellow card, but it was too late for Sudan to capitalise.
In the other Group D fixture, Nigeria defeated Congo 2-0, but it was a bittersweet victory. Their earlier defeats meant the Super Eagles’ late push was not enough to displace the two unbeaten sides.
With the group settled, Sudan’s reward for their unbeaten run is a quarter-final clash with Algeria in Zanzibar. Meanwhile, reigning champions Senegal will face hosts Uganda in what promises to be an explosive encounter in Kampala.
With all three co-hosts—Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—already through, the knockout stage is set for a true festival of football across East Africa.
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