The age-old rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria will be rekindled this evening at the ongoing African Under- 20 championship in Senegal when the two teams come face to face in the first of the two semi- final matches at the Stade Leopold Sedar Senghor in Dakar.
The Black Satellites of Ghana had prior to their semi- final berth, beaten the Armajitas of South Africa 2-0 and went ahead to upset Zambia 2-1. They, however, lost by a lone goal to Mali and placed second in Group B.
Unlike the Satellites who have won the championship on three ocassions, the six- time African champions, Nigeria, who played in Group A, had to bulldoze their way through the group stages with a 1-3 win over host Senegal and a 4-1 thrashing of Congo. They were however, held to a 2-2 draw by the Young Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire in their last group match.
Notwithstanding the draw with Cote D’Ivoire, the Flying Eagles emerged as winners of group A while the Black Satellites came second in group B after they failed to win their last group match against Mali.
And despite their qualification for the World Cup, Coach Sellas Tetteh and his boys still have their eyes on the trophy and would also be seeking victory over their rivals.
As usual, Coach Tetteh will count on lanky goalkeeper, Mutawakilu Seidu, skipper Owusu Bempah, Samuel Afful, Asiedu Attobrah, Yaw Owusu, Clifford Aboagye and Benjamin Tetteh to go for victory.
Source: Graphiconline.com