Our aim is to qualify for CHAN – Ogunmodede

Stand-in head coach Daniel Ogunmodede said on Thursday that the big focus of the Super Eagles B players and officials ahead of Saturday’s African Nations Championship qualifying game against Ghana’s Black Galaxies is to attain victory that will spring Nigeria to the finals of the competition early next year.

The eighth CHAN tournament will be hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, from February 1-28, 2025 and Nigeria and Ghana are still locked in a delicately poised contest for one of the tickets.

Both countries played out a goalless draw in the first leg of the encounter in Accra last Sunday, setting the tone for a fight to finish at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

There has been no holiday for Ogunmodede and his squad and the Remo Stars handler says they are focused on winning the encounter.

“We are doing everything to stay focused by avoiding any distractions. Yes, we got a scoreless draw in the first leg away and now playing at home, but we are not in any way carried away. Our objective was to score an away goal in Accra but that did not happen.

“On Saturday, we will approach the game like our lives depend on it. Our watchword is getting the win that will qualify us for the African Nations Championship finals coming up in East Africa.”

Nigeria defended stoutly at the Accra Sports Stadium while relying on counter-attacks, but will have to launch onslaughts from the blast of the referee’s whistle at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

Their bitter regional rivalry, Ghana’s failure to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals and the results of previous encounters in the African Nations Championship are indices that have rendered Saturday’s match a potentially explosive affair with endless fireworks.

The Black Stars have failed to reach the 35th AFCON finals, from a group that included Sudan, Angola and Niger Republic, and the Galaxies will throw the kitchen sink at the Super Eagles B to ensure they don’t follow in that negative trend. Ghana last missed the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004.

For Nigeria, Ghana have dominated their African Nations Championship clashes, with the Eagles winning only one of six previous clashes. Three have resulted in scoreless draws. Ghana won 3-2 in Accra in 2008 and also 2-0 in Accra in 2022, and claimed victory even in the ones that ended in ties.

The 0-0 draw in Calabar in 2008 meant Ghana sailed through to the inaugural CHAN finals in Ivory Coast on the strength of their 3-2 win in Accra two weeks earlier, and when their semi-final clash in the third instalment of the final tournament in South Africa in 2014 ended 0-0, the Galaxies prevailed 4-1 after a penalty shootout.

Ogunmodede’s charges have earned Nigeria’s best result against Ghana in the African Nations Championship on away ground, and look poised to gain victory in Uyo on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football has selected Moroccan official Hamza El Fariq as referee for the match, with his compatriots Abdessamad Abertoune, Zakaria Bouchtaoui and Hicham Temsamani to serve as assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively.

Prince Kai Saquee from Sierra Leone will be the commissioner while Miboti Moise from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be in the role of referee assessor.