Sudan reached the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) quarter-finals with a tight 1-0 over Mauritania in Casablanca.
Walaa Eldin grabbed the only goal of the game on half-hour mark when he thumped a loose ball outside the penalty area to seal Falcons of Jediane quarters spot alongside hosts Morocco in Group A.
Ahead of the game, the Sudanese were only certain that they had a better head-to-head record over Mauritania, but knew they had to win to give themselves the best chance of progressing.
Sudan started brightly and had the vast majority of the possession but Mauritania grew in confidence as the game went on.
Omer Omer fired wide in the early stages after being set up by Samawal, while for Mauritania the busy Bessam looked the best bet for opening the scoring.
Walaa’s opener stifled any Mauritania momentum and the favourites continued to hold the upper hand with Saefeledin hitting a shot straight at defender Wade.
Sudan keeper Akram made a rare save to deny Boubakar Bagili at the start of the second half and the same player came close again moments later with a shot from a tight angle.
Abdel Bouya shot wide for Sudan but the underdogs were enjoying a good spell with Voullany the latest to steer a low shot just wide of target.
Substitute Aagala maintained the pressure with a header just over the bar, then Walaa found the side-netting with a volley from 25 yards.
Mauritania continued to push for an equaliser and came close again 10 minutes from time when substitute Karamohnko sent a header agonisingly across the face of the six-yard box.
At the final whistle, Walaa Eldin and his team-mates erupted in celebrations with their fans, with qualification assured.
They will seek, however, to step up their game against hosts Morocco in their last Group A match at the same venue on Sunday, as they were not quite convincing against Mauritania.
Line-ups:
Sudan: Akram; A.Saeed, Bakri, Omer, Samawal – M.Tahir (Maaz 69′), Nasreldin, Elhag, M.Bachir (Aagla 75′) – Walaedin (Hashim 81′), Saifeldin.
Mauritania: Souleimane; Wade, N’Gara, O.Mangane, M.Diaw – Dellahi – Bessam, Alassane (Voullany 78′), Teguedi (Sileye 57′), Tanjy – Bagili (Karamokho 65′).
