Football rivals Ghana and Nigeria will face off once again on Sunday as they strive to earn a spot in the 2023 African Nations Championship, which will be staged in Algeria.
The two countries’ senior sides battled out for a Mundial Qualification early this year and Ghana came out victorious after two-leg fixtures at Baba Yara Sports Stadium and Moshood Abiola National Stadium, respectively.
Ideally, in football circles, it could be regarded as revenge for the Super Eagles B heading to their fixture at Cape Coast Stadium on Sunday and the return fixture in Abuja a few weeks later.
The build-up to Sunday’s first leg encounter in Cape Coast has been diverse, as is typical of games between these two football heavyweights, with both the Nigerian coach Salisu Yusuf and his Ghanaian counterpart Annor Walker talking pretty tough.
Ghana’s Black Galaxies defeated the Benin Republic in two legs to win the earlier qualifying round, while Nigeria (Super Eagles B) received a farewell.
Speaking to NFF TV after their arrival in Ghana, Nigeria’s coach conceded that Ghana is in good shape, highlighting their game against Benin, while Nigeria drew a bye.
Though Salifu Yusuf agrees that the Ghana squad has had more time to prepare than his hastily constructed team, he is confident about the outcome.
Salifu told NFF TV that he is determined to register a good score in Cape Coast and finish the job at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Saturday, September 3, 2022.
Salifu told NFF TV, “The game against Ghana will be tough and we have to be at our best to be able to get a result. We want to be at CHAN and try to win it. That is why we are going all out to ensure that we get a result in Ghana and return home to finish the job. It’s a Herculean task, and we are up for it. The Ghanaian team, having played two-legged qualifying matches against the Benin Republic and only recently returned from a training tour of Europe, are ahead of us in terms of preparations, but we have the quality and character to emerge victorious. “
