By Ben Efe
Nigeria’s CHAN Eagles are set to tackle the Black Galaxies of Ghana in Saturday’s CAF African Nations Championship billed for the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo Akwa Ibom State.
The winner of the tie which ended 0-0 in the first leg in Accra will earn the bragging rights to the tournament billed for February 1-28 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Ghana is desperate to qualify to compensate themselves for missing the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, while Nigeria has not played in the Championship since becoming runners up to Morrocco in the 2018 edition.
Speaking ahead of the clash Ghana’s coach Didi Dramani believes his players have all it takes to shock Nigeria, and they would not be sitting back to but go all out. He argued that in Accra they created more scoring chances.
“We created far more chances and were unlucky not to score. No need crying over spilt milk. Tomorrow is an opportunity to get the goals and qualify for the CHAN. It is not going to be easy as there is never any clash between Nigeria and Ghana that can be easy,”
Dramani stated
“The Super Eagles team is a good one and we have to take our game to another level. We will play an attacking game. Football is about scoring; even when you’re consciously soaking up pressure, you’re still looking to go on the counter and score. Our objective is to qualify for the final tournament.”
On his part CHAN Eagles coach Daniel Ogumodede acknowledged that Ghana tend to find their groove when playing against Nigeria, but his wards would be mentally ready to face them headlong.
“They (Ghana) may be depending on so much history and the times they have been victorious over Nigeria, especially in the CHAN, but we are blind to that. In camp, we are not allowing any historical talk to distract us. We are focused on achieving the win that will see us qualify for the finals.
“We are prepared physically, mentally and psychologically for this match. Our special plea is for the fans to troop out on Saturday to come and support the boys. The Ghanaians came out in large numbers to support their team in the first leg and this imbued their players with extra energy and aggression.”
Ghana stopped Nigeria from reaching the 2009 and 2023 finals, in Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria respectively, and also defeated Nigeria after a penalty shootout when a semi-final clash at the 3rd African Nations Championship in South Africa in 2014 ended scoreless.
