CAF World Cup qualifying: Ghana 4 Sudan 0

Ghana kept the pressure on Group D leaders Zambia in World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 thrashing of Sudan on Sunday.

In a dominant display at Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, James Kwesi Appiah’s men struck twice in each half as they outclassed their visitors.

Asamoah Gyan put them ahead before Mubarak Wakaso doubled Ghana’s advantage seven minutes before the break.

Abdul Waris ended any hope of a Sudan comeback and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu added polish to the scoreline late on.

With Zambia drawing against Lesotho earlier on Sunday, Ghana have moved within a point of the Group D leaders.

The hosts tested Sudan goalkeeper El Muez Mahgoub several times early on before Gyan’s 19th-minute opener.

A cleverly worked set-piece led to John Boye squaring a header for the Al-Ain striker to tap in with Mahgoub missing his attempted clearance and leaving his goal open.

Sudan attempted to unsettle their opponents with several tough challenges, but Ghana took a deserved 2-0 lead in the 38th minute.

Harrison Afful did well to beat his marker down the right before crossing to the edge of the area, from where Espanyol attacker Wakaso struck the ball into the bottom corner.

Gyan and Waris were causing Sudan all sorts of problems, but the former Sunderland striker came off early in the second half with a suspected muscle strain.

Waris was unfortunate to be booked for simulation just after the hour-mark when he appeared to be brought down in the area.

But the Spartak Moscow forward was rewarded for his excellent performance when he got on the scoresheet to seal the three points in the 79th minute, escaping the attention of two markers to head into the bottom corner.

And Agyemang-Badu added Ghana’s fourth five minutes later after a superb free-flowing team move.

Waris was played in down the right and – spotting the run of Agyemang-Badu at the back post – he crossed for the Udinese midfielder to tap home.

The win leaves Appiah’s side in a good position to qualify for the third round ahead of the next set of fixtures in June.