_{The head coach of Sudan’s national team has blamed the poor performance of the team at the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 on-going in Algeria to lack of good preparations.}

_{Burhan Tia has made it clear after the team bowed out in the group stage that the preparations were not the best, and they did not have all the players with the team.}

_{The Sudan started the competition with a walkover 2020 champions Morocco who did not show-up for, and lost 3-1 to Ghana in the second match. In the last Group C match played on January 23rd Sudan suffered a 3-0 defeat to Madagascar.}

_{It was also the worst performance for the Sudan national team at CHAN tournament after they finished third in their previous participation in 2011 and 2018 respectively.}

_{But Tia has now made it clear that the training preparations for his team were not the best. “I insist our training and preparations for this tournament was not the best. We were not able to engage all the players. We wanted it to be more engaging. What happened wasn’t our plan,” added the Coach.}

_{Although the Sudan team camped in Tunisia before the CHAN tournament and played build-up matches against Uganda and Cameroon, Tia says they did not have the best preparations.}

_{“Our ambitions and goals were very big. We were keen on presenting a good performance, but we failed. We must benefit from the lessons of our mistakes and better ourselves in future,” added Tia.}

_{The coach made it clear that he will make a compressive report to evaluate the team to see the week points and were improvements can be made it the future.}

_{The other teams from the CECAFA region Ethiopia and Uganda also failed to qualify out of the groups. Ethiopia started with a goalless draw against Mozambique in Group A, and later suffered 1-0 and 3-1 defeats to Algeria and Libya respectively.}

_{In Group B Uganda Cranes settled for a 0-0 draw against two time champions DR Congo, and beat Senegal 1-0 in the second match. The Cranes suffered a 3-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in the last group match.}

_{CECAFA representatives Ethiopia and Uganda have exited the on-going TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022.}

_{Ethiopia suffered a 3-1 defeat to Libya in their last Group A match played on Saturday to finish bottom of the log.}

_{On Sunday Uganda fell by a similar 3-1 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in a Group B match played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki, Algiers.}

_{Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s team went into the match leading the group and only needed a draw to make history and qualify for their first knock out stage in the CHAN competition.}

_{Karamoko Sankara and Patrick Quotro gave Cote d’Ivoire the lead before Uganda pulled a goal back through a penalty converted by Moses Waiswa. After the interval Uganda Cranes pushed forward to try and level matters, but the Cote d’Ivoire side made it 3-1 through Kramo Aubin.}

_{The 3-0 win for Senegal against 10-man DR Congo in Annaba saw them also qualifier for the quarter final stage. Cote d’Ivoire who finished second will now face hosts Algeria in the first quarter final match on Friday.}

_{“We conceded early goal which disorganised us. But the boys tried to settle and pushed forward, but it was not our day,” said Uganda Cranes coach Sredojevic.}

_{While Ethiopia opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Mozambique, they lost the second match 1-0 to hosts Algeria and lost the third match on Saturday. Uganda who were making their sixth appearance in the competition kick started with a goalless draw against two time champions DR Congo, and stopped Senegal 1-0 in their second match.}

_{Later tonight Sudan will face Madagascar in a Group C match which will decide if they qualify for the quarter final stage. Sudan has been the most successful team in the CECAFA Zone in the history of the CHAN tournament having finished third in 2011 and 2018, the only times they participated. .}

_{Sudan suffered defeat a 3-1 to Ghana’s 10-man team in a Group C match played last night at the on-going TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 in Algeria.}

_{The Sudan team needed a clear win to qualify for the quarter final before playing their last match against Madagascar.}

_{Al Gozoli Nooh gave Sudan the lead after 31 minutes at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine. But the Ghana team The Galaxies kept pushing and leveled matters through Konadu Yiadom in the third minute of extratime.}

_{After recess The Falcons of Jediane came back determined to get more goals,  but the Ghana defenders were up to the task. But Ghana got a penalty after 65 minutes and skipper Daniel Afriyie netted from the spot.}

_{Sudan continued to push upfront and Salaheldin Mahmoud Nemer’s would have been equalizer was canceled by the referee after six minutes of added time.}

_{Ghana’s captain Afriyie was later sent off for a dangerous challenge on Walieldin Khdir Safour, but Ghana added a third goal through substitute Seidu Suraj off a Jonah Attuquaye cross after 98 minutes.}

_{Burhan Tia, the Sudan coach blamed his team for failing to defend well. “We conceded poor goals and also failed to take the many chances we created,” added Tia. He however made it clear that they must go back and improve ahead of their deciding match against Madagascar on 23rd January, 2023 in Oran.}

_{Sudan are bottom of the group, but a convincing victory by over two goals against Madagascar could see them qualify for the quarter final stage.}

_{In their last appearances in 2011and 2018, Sudan has finished third in the CHAN competitions.}

_{Group C standing}

                       _{P    W     D     L    GF   GA   GD   Pts}

_{Madagascar   1      1      0      0      2      1       1     3}

_{Ghana            2      1      0     1      4      3       1      3}

_{Sudan            1      0      0      1      1      3      -2     0}

_{The Sudan national team will play their first Group C match against Ghana this evening at the on-going TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 in Algeria.}

_{After the 2020 champions Morocco failed to appear for their first match against Sudan on January 15th, the Sudan team will now test real action today at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine.}

_{Sudan will be all out to pick and win and qualify for the quarter final stage. After Ghana lost their opening match 2-1 to Madagascar, victory for Sudan will be enough to see them through to the knock out stage even before they face Madagascar in the last group match.}

_{But Sudan’s head coach Burhan Tia has called for a lot of caution when his team faces the Ghana team. “The Ghana team lost their opening match and will be very hungry to be a better team against us,” added Eldin Tia.}

_{“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,” says the coach.}

_{The coach maintained that the team is determined to try and improve on their third place finish in the 2011 and 2018 editions when they participated in the CHAN tournament. “We always want to aim higher,” added the coach.}

_{Mohamed Abd Alrahman, the Sudan captain also made it clear there is no easy game. “We need to do what we know best and make our people proud. The competition is also important to the players because it affords us a chance to showcase our talent,” added the captain.}