Fierce rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana resumes

The latest episode in the fierce football rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana will be fought in Calabar Sunday with a place at the 2009 African Nations Championship on the line.

Ghana overcame a two-goal deficit to win a first-leg thriller 3-2 in the final regional qualifying round for the new competition to be hosted by the Ivory Coast over two weeks next February and March.

Restricted to footballers playing in their national league, the African Nations Championship will be staged biennially like its 'big brother', the African Nations Cup.

Nations Championship rules affect countries differently with Nigeria and Ghana among the hardest hit as their strongest national team consists almost exclusively of Europe-based stars.

But the absence of household names like Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari of Ghana and Joseph Yobo and Obafemi Martins of Nigeria will not lower the temperature between the bitter rivals.

“When Ghana play Nigeria there is no such thing as a big game or a small game and it does not matter whether the match is between men, women, boys or girls,” Ghana assistant coach Kwesi Appiah told reporters.

“It is also wrong to dismiss the African Nations Championship as a second rate competition. This is a stepping stone toward the dream of every African footballer: to play professionally aboard.

“If we can overcome Nigeria and qualify for the finals in the Ivory Coast it will be fantastic for the players because many agents are going to be there and there is also international television exposure.”

Appiah confirmed that the policy of previous national coach Claude le Roy from France restricting the Ghana Nations Championship squad to players under 25 had been abandoned by his Serb successor Milovan Rajevac.

“Age is no longer a factor when selecting the squad. The sole criteria is choosing those who will serve Ghana best on the football fields of Africa,” stressed Appiah.

And Francis Coffie would fit that bill perfectly having scored twice to bring the 'Black Stars' back into contention after a couple of Musa Kabiru goals had put the 'Super Eagles' in control in Accra.

Samuel Inkoom was the unlikely Ghanaian hero, displaying dribbling skills not usually associated with a defender before unleashing a shot that left Nigeria goalkeeper Bassey Akpan helpless.

Nigeria have reacted to the loss by giving coach Okey Emordi two additional assistants and inviting 11 more players, including Enyimba striker Ezenwa Otorogu, who is on the wanted list of top Tunisian team Club Africain.

There are six other fixtures Saturday and Sunday with the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe well positioned to advance after building first leg advantages away from their supporters.

DR Congo host Cameroon in the southern city of Lubumbashi holding a 2-0 lead while Zambia tackle Angola in Kitwe and Zimbabwe confront South Africa in Harare having won 1-0 when the countries first met two weeks ago.

Morocco and Tanzania travel to Libya and Sudan repectively with 3-1 leads while Guinea defend a 1-0 advantage over west African neighbours Senegal in Dakar.

The stakes are particularly high for the Tanzanian 'Taifa Stars' as they seek a place at the finals of an African senior national team tournanment for the first time in 28 years.

Abidjan will host the African Nations Championship draw on December 26, dividing the eight teams into two groups with the winners and runners-up advancing to the semi-finals.