Black Stars' fate in AFCON qualifiers was sealed after Angola defeat – Sudan's assistant coach

Assistant coach of the Sudan national team, Ignatius Osei-Fosu, has revealed the moment he reckons was the defining moment for Ghana in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Ignatius, who enjoyed successful stints as a coach for various Ghana Premier League clubs was appointed by Kwasi Appiah as his assistant when the former Ghana coach was named head coach of Sudan.

In a twist of fate, Ghana and Sudan were drawn into the same group for the 025 AFCON qualifiers. Ironically, Sudan secured a ticket to Morocco ahead of Ghana, taking four points from the Black Stars—beating them 2-0 in Morocco and holding them to a goalless draw in Accra.

Nonetheless, Osei-Fosu believes that while Ghana lost a few games, it was their first qualifying match against Angola that ultimately sealed their fate. Ghana appeared poised for a draw until a defensive blunder by Abdul Mumin handed the Palancas Negras a 1-0 victory.

“Losing in Kumasi to Angola, I think that was the end of the qualifiers for Ghana. Once you lose a home game, it becomes very difficult to recover. On any day, Ghana would have won that game against Niger in Morocco, but because we had already lost a game in Ghana, we were desperate to win at all costs. And playing with that kind of pressure is tough,” Osei-Fosu explained.

With Kwasi Appiah also appointing Fatau Dauda as Sudan’s goalkeeping coach, the backroom staff primarily comprised Ghanaians. This created a challenging emotional situation as they witnessed Ghana’s struggles.

“People have no idea how we feel when things go wrong. We really feel it. For Kwasi Appiah, it’s even harder because he’s an Executive Council (ExCo) member. It’s huge for him to sometimes even accept that Ghana has lost a game,” Osei-Fosu added.

In October 2023, Sudan appointed Kwasi Appiah to oversee the affairs of the Falcons of Jediane. The former Black Stars coach named Ignatius Osei-Fosu as his assistant, and together, they have led Sudan to their first AFCON since 2013. Sudan also currently sit atop Group B in the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 10 points.

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