Satellites out to stop Nigeria …in WAFU B championship
The Black Satellites and the Flying Eagles will today rekindle the football rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria when they clash at the West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone B tournament at the Stade Charles de Gaulles in Porto Novo, Benin at 4pm.
Scheduled as a qualifier for the 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania, which will also decide Africa’s representatives for the 2021 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, both teams are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to reach the world stage.
The Satellites would be on a revenge mission after losing to the Nigerians in the first edition in 2018, when Nigeria defeated Ghana to reach the semifinals.
That defeat ended Ghana’s dream of a FIFA U-20 World Cup appearance.
Head Coach of the Black Satellites, Karim Zito, has admitted today’s game will not be an easy one after watching their opening 1-1 draw with The Junior Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday.
With that result, a win for the Satellites will edge them closer to qualification to the semi final.
Consequently, Coach Zito and his assistant, Evans Adotey, have been plotting the defeat of their opponents to be led by Coach Isah Ladan Bosso, who is very experienced at this level.
He guided Nigeria to a third place finish at the 2009 African Youth Championship held in Rwanda and a quarter finals place at the FIFA World Youth Championship two years earlier.
Skipper of the side Daniel Afriyie says the team was keen on qualifying and was bent on beating the Nigerians to record their first win in the competition.
Ghana, three-times CAF U-20 African Nations Cup champions have not showed up at the African showpiece since a third place finish at the 2015 edition in Algeria; a statistic the Afriyie led team will aim to reverse.
The Nigerians – seven-time CAF U-20 AFCON champions – come into the game as favourites but would have to grapple with the absence of promising lanky defender; Christopher Nwaeze who was red carded in the opening game.
Nwaeze, a key player in the Flying Eagles team, puts his side ahead with a brilliant header against Cote d’Ivoire before losing his cool in the 71st minute and received a second booking.
In his absence, Coach Bosso will put Peter Olawale and Wisdom Ubani in firing line to thwart the efforts of the Ghanaians.
Coach Bosso insists his wards are aware of the rivalry that exists between the two countries and will go all out to stop their Ghanaians in their tracks.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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