Nigeria’s Home-based Super Eagles’ campaign at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) came to an end on Tuesday following a devastating 4-0 defeat to Sudan in their second Group D fixture in Zanzibar.
Eric Chelle’s side, already reeling from a close 1-0 loss to Senegal in their opening, were dominated by a Sudanese team that matched physical domination with crisp, incisive attacking play.
The loss left Nigeria bottom of the group with zero points, a minus-five goal difference, and mathematically out of the tournament.
The tone was set early as Sudan pressed high, forcing errors in Nigeria’s defensive third. After twenty-five minutes, the breakthrough came in a strange way when Leonard Ngenge, under duress, turned the ball into his own net.
Goalie Mustapha Lawal was merely wrong-footed by Ngenge’s attempted clearance after Abdel Raouf Yagoub had struck the post from close range.
Prior to the interval, things were getting worse. Ngenge’s handball gave Sudan a penalty, and Walieldin Khdir scored the goal with ease, slamming it into the top right corner to double the score. Nigeria almost equalized in stoppage time, but Sikiru Alimi missed a close-range shot.
The second half swiftly put an end to any thoughts of a comeback. Yagoub, who was a persistent threat throughout the evening, scored twice in seven minutes. In the 55th minute, he finished calmly with a left foot into the bottom corner following a cutback by Musa Hussien, and he scored again with a ferocious right footed rocket that went high into the net.
Sudan dominated the game with discipline after that, thwarting Nigeria’s attempts to gain ground. Late in the game, Sudanese goalkeeper Mohamed Abooja held firm after Raymond Tochukwu hit the post.
Sudan is now close to making it to the knockout stages with four points from two games. The 2018 finalists were destroyed by defensive errors and a lack of offensive flair, so Nigeria’s exit is bittersweet.
