Ghana-Sudan The Pick Of Thursday’s AFCON Qualifiers

Ghana playing host to Sudan in Group F is the pick of matches in Thursday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The Black Stars will tackle the Falcons of Jediane in one of five AFCON qualifiers on Thursday 10 October, as they look to bounce back from a slow start in Group F which saw them record a shock home loss to Angola and an away draw against Niger.

Despite the huge pressure on his shoulders, Ghana coach Otto Addo is confident that his team will prove their quality.

“We have good footballers, better footballers than them [Sudan], so we have to win this game,” said Addo. “We are very much aware of their ability and strength, but we have to put everything aside and just give our all.”

Adding a narrative wrinkle is the fact that Sudan are coached by Ghanaian James Kwesi Appiah, who was in charge of the Black Stars from 2012 to 2014 and 2017 to 2020.

“We have so much respect for Kwesi Appiah and what he has done for the national team and Ghanaian football,” noted Addo. “But on Thursday, we must put all that aside and focus on the game.”

The early evening’s action also features Botswana’s Zebras heading to Praia for a tough match against Cape Verde in Group C, while DR Congo will chase a hat-trick of wins in Group H when they welcome Tanzania to Kinshasa.

The Taifa Stars, though, have recalled the influential Mbwana Samatta, and coach Hemed Suleiman believes the veteran’s return could be key.

“If you look at our team, one of the areas we struggle in a lot is the striking position. Even in the local leagues, our strikers are not scoring as much. Having a player of Samatta’s status and experience is key for us because he brings with him an X factor,” said Suleiman.

He added, “We are going to play a very tough match. Congo is a good team with good players and you can see from their results that they are very keen to go to the AFCON. Our ambition is to go there and win.”

The night matches see Algeria looking for a third straight win in Group E when they host Togo in Annaba, and Burkina Faso’s place at the top of Group L will come under threat when they ‘host’ a rapidly-improving Burundi in Abidjan.

AFCON qualifiers fixtures, Thursday 10 October

Times CAT

18:00: Cape Verde v Botswana

18:00: Ghana v Sudan

18:00: DR Congo v Tanzania

21:00: Algeria v Togo

21:00: Burkina Faso v Burundi