22 March 2026
The Sudanese Football Association announced on Saturday the reason its national team declined to play a friendly match against Argentina, the reigning world champions, during the March international break in Buenos Aires. Argentina was looking for a friendly opponent after its match against Spain in the "La Finalesima" tournament in Doha was canceled. On Friday, it announced an agreement with Mauritania to play on March 27 at La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires.
Reports revealed that Argentina had offered to host the Sudanese national team before finalizing the agreement with Mauritania, prompting questions from Sudanese fans about missing out on a golden opportunity to face the legendary Lionel Messi and his teammates at their famous stadium, La Bombonera.
The Sudanese Football Association issued a statement on its official Facebook page, explaining that the national team had received an official invitation to play Argentina in Buenos Aires during the FIFA international window (March 23-31, 2026). The statement indicated that the National Teams Committee of the Sudanese Football Association, headed by Dr. Osama Atta Al-Mannan, informed the national team's coach, Ghanaian Kwesi Appiah, and after a technical review, the coach decided to decline the invitation.
The statement continued, "Based on the technical staff's recommendation, the National Teams Committee has declined the invitation, while emphasizing the continuation of cooperation between the Sudanese and Argentinian federations to organize friendly matches in the future."
For his part, Dr. Osama Atta Al-Mannan, head of the National Teams Committee of the Sudanese Football Association, said that facing a major team like Argentina would have been an invaluable opportunity and would have brought significant benefits to the "Falcons of Jediane" in all aspects, but the technical staff declined for technical reasons beyond their control.
He continued, "Coach Kwesi Appiah has his own assessments, which we respect, and he knows best the circumstances of his team and players and the benefits that can be achieved from the match, so his decision was to apologize for it."
