Sports
GHANA’S Coach, Anor Walker, is so sure that his wards will overcome Nigeria in Abuja to seal their qualification for next year’s African Nations Championship (CHAN) that he has told his Nigerian counterpart, Salisu Yusuf, to look for excuses for Super Eagles B’s failure after tomorrow’s encounter.
Ghana’s Black Galaxies defeated Nigeria 2-0 in the first leg of the tie in Cape Coast last week and will meet the Super Eagles B team again tomorrow in Abuja. The winner of the tie on aggregate will qualify for the CHAN billed for Algeria next year.
Speaking ahead of his team’s departure for Abuja on Wednesday, Walker said he has studied the Nigerian team and observed that the Eagles don’t have the materials to match his team in every sphere of the game.
Walker said Ghana did well enough to get a 2-0 first-leg victory in Cape Coast and are coming to Nigeria to show they are superior in the game.
“Defeat in Abuja will not be possible because I have not seen any threat in Nigeria’s attack.
“In fact, since I have seen the way they play, we will also strategise for it and when we get to Nigeria, it will be a different strategy that we will use to approach the game.
“We are not coming back without the qualification ticket… we are going to Nigeria and for sure qualify for CHAN next year,” the coach boasted.
Ghana’s main team, the Black Stars, stopped Nigeria from qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup by beating the Super Eagles to to the ticket through the away goals rule.
So, Nigeria must score more than two goals and stop the Ghanaians from getting any to avoid another away goal headache.
That is exactly what Coach Yusuf plans to avoid.
Buoyed by the presence of Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Jose Peseiro, Yusuf said his boys are ready to move mountain to qualify for Algeria 2023.
“We have an idea where they have strength as a team and we will seek how we can restrict their strength and explore their weaknesses.
“Football is a game of 90 minutes and we must look to overturn the two goals we conceded.
“The team needs to work even harder than we did in the short time we had to prepare for this game. We have to turn things around in Abuja,” Yusuf said.
Also speaking on tomorrow’s match, Babatunde Bello, who plays for Akwa United, said players of the home-based national team is ready for the battle of their lives, saying they don’t see elimination as an option.
“They did not out play us in Ghana, but God wanted them to win. We already have the motivation from our coaches and all Nigerian football lovers and we promise that we will make them happy on Saturday,” Bello said.
Goalkeeper Ojo Olorunleke of Enyimba admits the match would be tough, but he is also optimistic that Nigeria has the weapons to pass the Ghana challenge.
“We all know what is at stake in this match and we are prepared to qualify on Saturday.
“If the Galaxies know what is good for them, they must come out to play instead of playing a defensive game. But we don’t care about what they want to do. All we want is victory to move on to Algeria.”
“If I am called upon to play, I will do my best to help the team qualify,” he said.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the match will begin by 5.00 p.m. tomorrow with tickets going from N5, 000 (state box/VIP white seats) to N1, 000 for regular seats.
The NFF added that VIP tickets will be on sale from 9.00 a.m. today at its Head Office Package B, NFF’s Wuse Zone 7 Old Office and the MKO Abiola Stadium stand, while regular tickets would be on sale at the stadium on the match day.
-The Guardian
KN
Tags: Anor Walker Jose Peseiro Ojo Olorunleke Salisu Yusuf
