Sudan faces Senegal in the round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday. On paper, the Lions of Teranga appear to be clear favorites. But the Nile Crocodiles might find an extra spark of determination as their country is ravaged by war.

Sudan made Africa Cup of Nations history by becoming the first country to qualify for the round of 16 without scoring a single goal. Their only victory, against Equatorial Guinea in the group stage, was secured thanks to an own goal.

Despite their lack of attacking prowess, Sudan have advanced from their group and will face Senegal in the Round of 16 on Saturday, January 3rd. The task ahead seems immense if they hope to secure their place in the next round. The Nile Crocodiles have not scored a single goal in their last eight matches. Their last goal (their only one so far in 2025) dates back to March against South Sudan. Against the Senegalese, one of the tournament's powerhouses, they will therefore have to pull off a major upset.

"To please the people"

But the players, who represent a country at war, could be spurred on by an entire nation. Since April 2023, a bloody conflict between the regular army and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), fueled by a power struggle, has left tens of thousands dead and displaced nearly 12 million people.

Faced with what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the members of the national team feel a duty to comfort their compatriots. Goalkeeper Mohamed Al Nour hopes his team will go "as far" as possible in the Africa Cup of Nations to "bring joy to the people" of Sudan, who have suffered from the collapse of the healthcare system, the destruction of infrastructure, and famine in parts of the country.

"We lived through terror," the 25-year-old footballer, who plays for Al Merreikh, one of Sudan's two biggest clubs, told AFP with restraint. He claims his brother was detained for nearly nine months by the FSR.

Interviewed by the BBC, Sudanese striker John Mano also emphasized the impact of the conflict on his life. One of his best friends was killed when he returned to the town of Wadi Halfa, near the Egyptian border, to obtain the necessary documents to leave the country. "They didn't even give him a chance. They shot him more than 20 or 25 times," he told the British broadcaster. "One of our childhood friends was also with them, but he couldn't say anything. So he just saw our friend die before his eyes, and that's all."

A national championship at a standstill

Since the start of the war, football has taken a back seat. The national championship is suspended, forcing Al Merreikh, Mohamed Al Nour's club, and its arch-rival Al-Hilal to play in exile, first in Mauritania and then in Rwanda. In 2025, however, the two teams played a mini-tournament locally to maintain their eligibility for continental competitions, according to the Sudanese Football Association, which announced the resumption of the championship in January in areas deemed safe in the country. "We have no championship, we have nothing, but we can't complain because people in my country don't have enough to eat," says John Mano, putting things into perspective.

I'm just praying for peace.

Despite all these obstacles, Sudan, winner of the competition in 1970, managed to qualify for the Africa Cup for only the fourth time since 1976. As the BBC explains, Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah had to convince his players to compete without any guarantee of payment and offered them his support on several occasions when members of the team lost loved ones.

Some members of the squad have not returned to their country for years. John Mano now plays in Libya for Al Akhdar, while his teammate, midfielder Ammar Taifour, has joined Club Sportif Sfaxien in Tunisia.

After more than two years, the war, marked by executions, looting, and rape, continues. Following the capture in October of El-Fasher, the army's last stronghold in the vast Darfur province in the west of the country, the RSF has refocused its operations on the neighboring Kordofan region. "I just pray for peace and that all those in this situation are safe and come out alive," hopes Ammar Taifour.

At this stage, international efforts to establish a truce in the conflict have been unsuccessful. After the surprise victory against Equatorial Guinea in Morocco, "it was really great to see the reaction" of the Sudanese, whether they attended the match in the stadium or sent messages from abroad, rejoiced Ammar Taifour, hoping that the results of the Nile Crocodiles could "take them away from the war" for a moment.