Ghana's Black Stars and Nigeria's Super Eagles have quite a chequered history that alternates between love, antagonism and pure banter when it comes to football.
The two countries, although not direct neighbours, share a stronger bond than they do with the nations they directly share borders with.
As Ghana and Nigeria prepare to face off in an international friendly on Friday March 22 in Marrakech, Morocco, the gauntlet has already been laid.
Unofficially known as the ‘Jollof derby’ due to the age-long banter between citizens of both countries over who makes the best Jollof rice, the upcoming fixture should serve a great spectacle.
It’s been exactly two years since Nigeria last played against Ghana – a 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff in which the Black Stars stood tall via away goals to qualify for the tournament in Qatar later that year.
It’s fair to say that result has yet to be forgotten by many Super Eagles fans, who will be targeting revenge in the upcoming friendly. A lot has changed, though, since the Super Eagles last faced Ghana. Key amongst them being the personnel in the dugout.
Super Eagles: Indecision on Nigeria’s technical direction
The Super Eagles have moved from Augustine Eguavoen to Jose Peseiro and will be managed by Finidi George when they take on Ghana on Friday.
Peseiro’s tenure started with lots of doubts, but in the end, the Portuguese managed to win over a chunk of the supporters when he guided Nigeria to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2024) in Ivory Coast.
The former Porto boss did it while sticking to his old ways, and as unfair as the inquest might be, his refusal to rotate burned his players out and left them with little gas in the tank by the time the final came.
Since Peseiro’s departure at the end of February, however, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appeared clueless about the technical direction to take.
Having already announced that they were taking applications for the head coach role, the Federation has since appointed George as a stop-gap coach to take charge of the friendlies against Ghana and Mali this month.
This clear indecision could erode the positives from the AFCON, with Nigeria still uncertain on the way forward with regard to style and philosophy since whatever George and the interim technical staff will be trying to implement wouldn’t be continued by the next coach anyway.
Black Stars turns to Addo for rebuild and momentum
For Ghana, what comes across as indecision in the ranks of Nigeria offers them a rare sense of forward momentum. The Black Stars endured a disappointing AFCON in Ivory Coast, where they were eliminated at the group stage despite being paired in a group that contained Cape Verde and Mozambique.
In the five weeks that have followed, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has taken steps to try to restore some stability. Unlike Nigeria who remain uncertain over their technical direction, the Ghana FA has quickly moved to re-appoint Otto Addo as head coach of the Black Stars.
Addo was the man in charge when Ghana got the better of the Super Eagles in the playoff to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder was an interim coach at the time and vacated the role immediately after the tournament in Qatar.
As fate would have it, Addo’s return – this time on an initial three-year contract with an option to extend for a further 24 months – coincides with a game against Nigeria once again. And while the Super Eagles are favourites following their strong display at the AFCON, Addo and the Black Stars currently have the stability and clear technical direction that the Super Eagles lack.
Meanwhile, both teams will be missing some key players for the upcoming friendly, with Mohammed Kudus and Victor Osimhen both ruled out due to injury. An entertaining encounter should nonetheless be expected between Nigeria and Ghana if previous clashes between the two rivals are anything to go by.
