Nigeria’s Super Eagles B suffered a shambolic exit from the 8th African Nations Championship yesterday after a humiliating 4-0 thrashing by Sudan in Zanzibar.
For the entire 90 minutes, the Nigerians looked disjointed, failing to mount any meaningful challenge against a clinical Sudanese side.
The defeat, coming just a week after a 1-0 loss to reigning champions Senegal, sealed Nigeria’s fate ahead of their final Group D fixture against Congo in Dar es Salaam next Tuesday.
It also matched the country’s heaviest loss in the 26-year history of the competition—equaling the 4-0 defeat to Morocco in the 2018 final.
Nigeria began with early intent, forcing corners in the eighth and ninth minutes that tested goalkeeper Mohamed Abooja, while Raymond Tochukwu fired wide from distance in the 11th minute.
Sudan, under Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah, weathered the pressure and struck first. On 22 minutes, Anthony Ijoma thought he had given Nigeria the lead, only for VAR to rule it out for offside. Three minutes later, disaster struck as Yagoub’s effort hit the post and ricocheted in off an unfortunate Leonard Ngenge.
Things got worse just before the break when Ngenge, already the culprit in Nigeria’s opening loss to Senegal, handled inside the box. Captain Walieldin Khdir made no mistake from the spot, smashing the ball into the top-right corner to double Sudan’s lead.
Nigeria had fleeting chances—Sikiru Alimi glancing a header wide in the 39th minute and poking past the post deep into stoppage time—but trailed 2-0 at the interval.
Head coach Eric Chelle made a triple substitution, introducing Steven Manyo, Jabbar Malik, and Vincent Temitope, yet Sudan tightened their grip.
Ten minutes into the restart, Yagoub Omer finished off a slick passing move that shredded Nigeria’s five-man defence. Seven minutes later, Omer struck again with a thunderous shot that crashed off the underside of the bar and into the net, completing the rout.
With Senegal held earlier, Sudan’s emphatic win moved them top of Group D on goal difference (W1 D1 L0, GF 5 GA 1). Senegal sit second, Congo third on two points, and Nigeria bottom on zero—mathematically out, even with a win in their final match.
Sudan now face Senegal in a group decider, while Nigeria meet Congo with nothing but pride to play for and serious questions looming over their preparation, selection, and execution at tournament level.
