Nigeria and Ghana face off in the first leg of their Fifa World Cup Qualifiers with a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar at stake.
Aside from an appearance at the global football showpiece, the match at the Baba Yara Stadium promises to be a fire cracker owing to the age-long rivalry between the West African countries.
Across the last 71 years, Nigeria and Ghana have played each other 56 times. However, this will be just the fifth time the two nations have played each other in a World Cup qualifier.
In their most recent World Cup Qualifying meeting in 2002, the two teams played to a goalless draw in Ghana before Nigeria ran out 3-0 winners back on their home turf.
Augustine Eguavoen’s team will be missing Wilfred Ndidi who picked up a knee injury playing for his club and Alex Iwobi who is carrying a suspension after the red card he picked up during the Super Eagles 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
For Ghana, who only announced their squad on Tuesday, captain Andre Ayew misses out owing to suspension after the red card he received in the Black Stars final group match at the Africa Cup of Nations finals and Kamaldeen Sulemana, Baba Rahman and Edmund Addo have all been ruled out through injury.
| Game | Ghana vs Nigeria |
| Date | Friday, March 25 |
| Time | 20:30 WAT |
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TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
This match will be live-streamed on Fifa's YouTube Channel here.
You can also watch the game in Africa on TV through SuperSport and various local broadcasters.
| Nigeria TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| AIT, SuperSport, NTA | NFF TV, YouTube |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Ghana squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Joseph Wollacott (Swindon Town), Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (KAS Eupen), Lawrence Ati Zigi (St Gallen), Richard Ofori (Orlando Pirates) |
| Defenders | Denis Odoi (FC Brugge), Andy Yiadom (Reading), Gideon Mensah (Bordeaux), Dennis Korsah (Hearts of Oak), Montari Kamaheni (Ashdod FC), Daniel Amartey (Leicester City), Joseph Aidoo (Bordeaux), Alexander Djiku (Strasbourg), Abdul Mumin (Victoria Guimaraes) |
| Midfielders | Iddrisu Baba (RCD Mallorca), Edmund Addo (FC Sherif), Mohammed Kudus (Ajax), Elisha Owusu (KAA Gent), Thomas Partey (Arsenal), Daniel Kofi Kyereh (FC St. Pauli) |
| Forwards | Issahaku Abdul Fatawu (Sporting), Osman Bukari (Nantes), Joseph Paintsil (KRC Gent), Yaw Yeboah (Columbus Crew), Felix Afena Gyan (Roma), Christopher Antwi-Adjei (VFL Bochum), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Kwasi Wriedt (Holstein Kiel) |
Potential Ghana XI: Wollacott, Odio, Amartey, Aidoo, Djiku, Kudus, Partey, Baba, Bukari, Paintsil, Ayew
| Position | Nigeria squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia), Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs), John Noble (Sparta Rotterdam) |
| Defenders | Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion), Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes), Leon Balogun (Rangers), William Ekong (Watford), Olaoluwa Aina (Torino), Calvin Bassey (Rangers), Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia), Zaidu Sanusi (Porto) |
| Midfielders | Frank Onyeka (Brentford), Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Rangers), Innocent Bonke (Lorient), Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford), Akinkunmi Amoo (FC Copenhagen) |
| Forwards | Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk), Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal), Victor Osimhen (Napoli), Moses Simon (FC Nantes), Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria), Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Hilal), Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City), Emmanuel Dennis (Watford), Ademola Lookman (Leicester City) |
Potential Nigeria XI: Uzoho, Aina, Ekong, Balogun, Zaidu, Etebo, Aribo, Chukwueze, Simon, Denis, Osimhen
Betting & Match Odds
Nigeria are 2.80 favourites to win with Betking. Ghana's chances of winning are rated at 3.10 and a draw is available at 2.85
Click here to see all of Betking's offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRITMatch Preview
Both teams head into this African classic on the back of their poor outings at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
However, the Super Eagles will go into this game full of hope judging by the impressive club form of strikers Ighalo, Osimhen, and Iheanacho.
Even with the absence of Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi, Eguavoen has a depth of quality in his squad to choose from.
Ghana, on the other hand, will be missing the services of their inspirational captain Andre Ayew and Kamaldeen Sulemana, Baba Rahman and Edmund Addo through injury.
Despite this, Black Stars coach Otto Addo has been upbeat about his team’s chances in the lead-up to the game.
Leicester City’s Iheanacho summed up the match and it's meaning to his nation in an interview with the Fifa website.
“It's not just a rivalry – it’s way more than that. It’s a lot of things. It’s a massive game,” the Leicester City star said.
“It means everything to Nigerians anyway, and this time it’s for a World Cup place. I really hope we can go through and make our people happy.
“I’m 100-per-cent confident that we will go through. Obviously, they have a strong team, a strong squad, good players, and they really want to win as well, so it’s not going to be easy.