The air at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday night carried two contrasting emotions after the final whistle in the African Nations Championship (Chan) semi-finals.

On one side wild Malagasy celebration echoed as history was made while on the other side Sudan’s dugout felt heavy with silence with its players staring at the turf as if searching for answers the game had cruelly denied them.

When James Kwesi Appiah finally walked into the press conference room after his Sudan side’s 1-0 extra time defeat to Madagascar his face told a bigger story than football.

He was not just a coach reflecting on a lost semi-final but was a man carrying the wounds of a nation fractured by war, a squad patched together without a functioning league and players torn between the fight for glory and anguish of families back home.

“For two years and half there has been no league in Sudan, I had only about three days of training before this tournament, three days yet these boys fought to the very end all the way to the semi-final. With everything against them they still gave Sudan something to be proud of,” he said.

The match itself was a dramatic theater.

Before the few Sudanese and Malagasy crowds it had all the ingredients of a classic rough tackle, yellow cards flashing, tactical twists and even a red card to Madagascar’s Fenohasina Razafimaro in the 79th minute.

Yet when it seemed destined for penalties substitute Toky Rakotondraibe struck in the 116th minute , a ruthless finish that sent Madagascar into their first ever Chan final and left Sudan broken.

Appiah admitted his team faltered in crucial moments.

“In the second half tactically we lost discipline, but football is like that sometimes a team gets 90 minutes and if you don’t take yours the other side punishes you, that is what happened,” he said.

Still the Ghanaian tactician insisted his campaign was about more than results.

“It is always difficult, these boys are thinking of their families, friends trapped in war, sometimes we are in camp and news would come from home, terrible news, my job was to shift minds even for 90 minutes so that Sudan could smile even if one smile means something,” he said.

He added:”We have played 120 minutes against Algeria and other 120 today, no league, no structure only three days training together for me is already a success,” he said.

As Sudan’s press conference was laced with sorrow, Madagascar was bursting with joy. 

Coach Romuald Felix Rakotondrabe walked in almost lost for words and shaking his head in disbelief.

“I can’t even describe it, it is incredibly magnificent. We lost a player, played nearly 50 minutes with 10 men but my boys showed courage and character. That was not just for us it was the voice of Madagascar,” he said.

Rakotondrabe said the red card forced him to tear up his game plan.

“We had to change immediately to bring in a player who could hold the ball upfront, 10 against 11 is never easy but they kept fighting, in the end they gave the country a dream,” he said.

For Madagascar this was not just a win, it was an elevation from finishing third in their debut in the tournament two years ago, and they have now written a new chapter by marching into the continental final.

Their midfield dynamo Herinianina Nicolas Randriamanampisoa was named Man of the Match for his tireless display in the middle of the park.

“I am truly very happy, this is the first time in history that Madagascar has reached Chan final we are the first generation to achieve this and it will be remembered forever,” he said.

For Appiah and Sudan focus shifts to Saturday’s third playoff against Senegal, a smaller stage but still meaningful.

“Even if it is third place we must fight, sometimes one win can give a whole country a little happiness and Sudan needs that happiness,” he said.