Sudan

 

Preview
Sudan, one of the founder members of the Confederation of African Football, hosted the organisation’s 50th anniversary celebrations early last year. A few months later they were celebrating their own re-emergence after three decades in the Nations Cup wilderness. Sudan, the trophy winners in 1970 and runners-up in 1959 and 1963, last played in the finals in 1976. They booked their place in Ghana with a game to spare and ended up topping the group with a 3-2 defeat of favourites Tunisia on the final day.

Sudan’s stock rose even higher because of the fine showing of two club sides in continental competition. Al Hilal and Al Merreikh, who provide the bulk of the national squad between them, reached the Champions League semi-finals and the Confederation Cup Final respectively.

The irony is that as Sudan’s football had a heady 12 months, the country’s international image has been sullied by the Darfur atrocities.

The federation gets by on a shoestring. For instance, national team coach Mohamed Abdallah is unpaid, loaned to the federation by Al Merreikh, where he has been assistant to maverick German boss Otto Pfister, now at the Cameroon helm.

Coach
Mohamed Abdallah
The 54-year-old former national team captain took over as coach in September 2004, replacing Pole Wojciech Lazarek. Abdallah had previously coached in Germany. He was an international player between 1975 and 1986 while working towards his current status as a university professor. He is fluent in English and French.

Key men
Faisal Agab
The striker was top scorer in the qualifying campaign, with six goals in as many matches. He was also prolific for club side Al Merreikh as they reached the Confederation Cup Final. Agab made his debut for the national team in 2002 but has been a regular choice only for the past two years.

Player to watch
Omar Bakheit
The right-back showed impressive form for Al Hilal in the Champions League, with his attacking flair making a particularly big contribution to the club’s progress to the semi-finals. This attracted the attention of several top African clubs, and a move to Egypt or Tunisia is on the cards for the
23-year-old.

Tactics
The key to Sudan’s game is the form of midfielders Rtshard Justin Lado and Haitham Mostafa, who are charged with keeping possession until an attacking opportunity presents itself. There is a touch of naivety about the team’s defending. They looked especially vulnerable at set-pieces during the qualifiers, suggesting a lack of concentration.

Squad:
Goalkeepers
Bahaeldin Abdallah (Al Merreikh), Mahjoub El Moez (Al Hilal), Akram El Hadi Salem (Al Merreikh)

Defenders
Mohamed Ali Khider (Al Hilal), Ahmed Al Basha, Musa Al Tayeb (both Al Merreikh), Omar Bakheit (Al Hilal), Amir Damar (Al Merreikh), Alaeldin Ahmed Gibril, Khalid Hassan (both Al Hilal)

Midfielders
Yousef Alaeldin, Hamouda Bashir (both Al Hilal), Badreldin El Doud (Al Merreikh), Saifeldin Ali Idris, Hassan Isaac Korongo, Rtshard Justin Lado (all Al Hilal), Mugahid Mohamed (Al Merreikh), Haitham Mostafa, Mohamed Tahir (both Al Hilal).

Forwards
Abdelhamid Amari, Faisal Agab, Alaeldin Babiker, Haitham Tambal (all Al Merreikh).

 

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