THERE is no bigger spectacle in African football than a Nigeria/Ghana match.
Age group, friendly or competitive, the match-up is more than just the scoreline; the national prestige is at stake.
As far as women football is concerned, Nigeria have gone a bridge far ahead of their rivals but let it be said that it was the Ghanaians, who more than anybody else, threatened Nigeria’s nearly impeccable record at this level.
Since 1991 when Nigeria have been playing at the African level, the country have lost four games, three of which were masterminded by Ghana’s Black Queens.
The summary is that as dominant as the Super Falcons are in Africa, anything can happen when they play against the Black Queens today in Limbe in a second Group B match of the ongoing Africa Women Cup of Nations, (AWCON), in Cameroon.
Nigeria’s coach, Florence Omagbemi was there when on February 16, 1991, the Falcons whipped the Black Queens 5-1 in Lagos as the Ghanaian ladies had their first ever game. It is a story she would gladly recall but it is also obvious to her that the opponents have become emboldened by the fact that they have bridged the gap ever since. They are the current All Africa Games gold medallists.
With players like Asisat Oshoala (Arsenal Ladies, England), Ngozi Ebere, (PSG, France) and Esther Sunday (Trabzonspor, Turkey), the Nigeria team has a lot of quality to call on.
Ghana, meanwhile are blessed with a younger team with an average age of 23, while the bulk of the team is drawn from the country’s Police and Immigration teams to ensure solidity
But for the draw, this is a game organisers would have loved to see at the elimination stage of the competition
WORDS BEFORE WAR
“Ghana are going to be difficult. What we have in front of us does not suggest an easy game. We have been told we have not done enough even after spanking Mali 6-0 in our first game. I am looking forward to this game because every match against Ghana is like a cup final.” —RITA CHIKWELU, Falcons’ captain
“We won convincingly against Kenya and that is to tell you that we mean business. Nigeria also won very well against Mali but I can’t see them doing that to us. We have studied them well enough and for a player like me, I have nothing to fear at age 39. Anything goes for me in football.” —GRACE ASARE, Black Queens defender
“We have one commitment – the ultimate. Notwithstanding, we have to respect every opponent since the best way to beat an opponent is by respecting them. It won’t be easy but trust Ghana to rise up in the end. Nigeria is always a different ball game. They massacred Mali 6-0 but it doesn’t mean that they will massacre Ghana. Let the day come and we will see what happens.We have learnt from our mistakes of 2014 [where Ghana failed to go past the group stage] and it won’t happen again. We want to write our own piece of history by winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.” —YUSIF BASIGI, Ghana’s head coach
“We are here to defend our trophy. We are in the process of finding our feet. We are looking forward to Ghana. Our focus is to defend our trophy and we have just started. I brought the best players at my disposal here and I have told them they need to forget the 6-0 spanking of Mali, no two games are the same.I’m honoured to have played in the competition [1998, 2000, 2002] and now back as coach. It has been a long journey when we started and I can say women’s football in Africa has made great progress. There are a lot of talents but still much to be done.” —FLORENCE OMAGBEMI, Nigeria’s coach
“Anybody can score, I am not here to stop anybody’s ambition but what I want is a win over Nigeria and we have stepped up training. We have to be more alert and see that we do not concede the first goal the way we did against Kenya, we are positive against Nigeria. —PATRICIA BOAKYE, Ghana striker
I won’t go out of my way to impress anybody. I think more about the team. I know a lot is expected of me after scoring four against Mali but that is not important now, we have to beat Ghana and relax for the third match. —ASISAT OSHOALA, Nigera’s striker
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