SA’s defeat to Sudan no surprise to Rahman

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday Mar 31, 2021. 13:59

Ghana defender Baba Rahman has explained that he was not surprised when South Africa lost their final Africa Cup of Nations qualifier away to Sudan this past weekend.

Bafana Bafana needed only to avoid defeat in their clash in Omdurman on Sunday evening, but fell to a 2-0 loss which saw Sudan join Ghana in qualifying for the AFCON.

Rahman, who played against SA in Ghana’s 1-1 draw at FNB Stadium last Thursday, knew that Molefi Ntseki’s men would struggle in their trip to North-East Africa.

“After we drew against South Africa in Johannesburg, I had it in mind that it would be difficult for them to win in Sudan,” Rahman told FootballMadeInGhana.

“I have been there and I saw how they played. If you go to Sudan or when we went there, their football was not attractive.

“They just want to win, the Sudanese, so if you are not tough with a bit of experience then you will get beaten easily. I knew it would be tough for South Africa to get a draw over there.”

Rahman added that he was happy to have contained Bafana’s dangerous Percy Tau.

“I think looking at him [Tau] he is a very good player and very quick. But in the game he was kind of just moving around where we were. He was not stuck on one position,” the defender explained.

“I won some duels against him. But overall, he is a good player and it was a good test for me to play against him.”

Ghana and South Africa will be adversaries once again when the 2022 World Cup qualifiers begin later this year.