CHAN 2025: Victory, to Qualify for CHAN Finals, is Our Watchword for Ghana Clash - Ogunmodede

Posted : 27 December 2024

Stand-in Head Coach Daniel Ogunmodede has stated that the main focus for the Super Eagles B players and officials ahead of Saturday’s African Nations Championship qualifying game against Ghana’s Black Galaxies is to attain victory, which will propel Nigeria to the finals of the competition early next year.

Both illustrious regional rivals played to a scoreless draw in Accra on Sunday, and the final qualifying fixture is delicately poised ahead of the decider at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Saturday.

“We are doing everything to stay focused by avoiding any distractions. Yes, we got a scoreless draw in the first leg away, and now we are playing at home, but we are not in any way carried away. Our objective was to score an away goal in Accra, but that did not happen,” Ogunmodede said.

“On Saturday, we will approach the game as if our lives depend on it. Our watchword is getting the win that will qualify us for the African Nations Championship finals coming up in East Africa.”

The eighth installment of the competition, reserved for footballers plying their trade in their nation’s domestic leagues, will take place across Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda from February 1–28, 2025.

Nigeria defended stoutly at the Accra Sports Stadium, relying on counter-attacks, but they will need to launch onslaughts from the blast of the referee’s whistle at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

Their bitter regional rivalry, Ghana’s failure to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals, and the results of previous encounters in the African Nations Championship all point to Saturday’s match being a potentially explosive affair with endless fireworks.

The Black Stars have failed to qualify for the 35th AFCON finals from a group that included Sudan, Angola, and Niger Republic. The Galaxies will throw everything at the Super Eagles B to ensure they do not follow in that negative trend. Ghana last missed the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004.

For Nigeria, Ghana has dominated their African Nations Championship clashes, with the Eagles winning only one of the six previous encounters. Three have ended in scoreless draws. Ghana won 3-2 in Accra in 2008 and also 2-0 in Accra in 2022, and they claimed victory even in the matches that ended in ties.

The 0-0 draw in Calabar in 2008 meant Ghana sailed through to the inaugural CHAN finals in Cote d’Ivoire on the strength of their 3-2 win in Accra two weeks earlier. Additionally, in the third installment of the tournament in South Africa in 2014, when their semi-final clash ended 0-0, the Galaxies prevailed 4-1 after a penalty shootout.

Ogunmodede’s charges have earned Nigeria’s best result against Ghana in the African Nations Championship on away ground and look poised to secure victory in Uyo on Saturday.

The Confederation of African Football has selected Moroccan official Hamza El Fariq as the referee for the match, with his compatriots Abdessamad Abertoune, Zakaria Bouchtaoui, and Hicham Temsamani to serve as assistant 1, assistant 2, and fourth official, respectively.

Prince Kai Saquee from Sierra Leone will be the commissioner, while Miboti Moise from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be the referee assessor.

CHAN 2025: Victory, to Qualify for CHAN Finals, is Our Watchword for Ghana Clash - Ogunmodede

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