Nigeria Start Talking Smack

February 1st, 2008 | By: Inara | 2 Comments »

It’s official. Ghana’s next opponents will be Nigeria. For those of you who don’t know (don’t be shy, I was one of them), this is a classico. One of the biggest and most bitter rivalries on the continent, Sunday’s quarterfinal match up between the Black Stars and the Super Eagles promises to be like a final in terms of build up and pre-match intensity (though the match itself might end up being boring).

Nigeria are probably the only team in the tournament relishing the chance to play against Ghana (a death wish, I know). They want revenge over a humiliating 4-1 loss several years again in a friendly and aren’t showing even a hint of trepidation at taking on the tournament hosts. In fact, they want to “black out the Black Stars.”

Nigeria’s assistant coach Austin Eguavoen has this to say:

“We are rated as the best team in Africa currently and so should not fear any team in this competition. Our target is to win the Cup and that means we have to knock out Ghana to stay on course. It will not be easy but if there is one team capable of doing this, it is Nigeria.”

I admit that I’m totally new to Ghana and the Black Stars, but I’m going to jump on the bitter enemy bandwagon and say a big FU to Nigeria. Keep dreaming, guys. The only place Nigeria is going after Sunday’s match is back home.

Tags: Ghana, Nigeria, African Cup of Nations 2008, Team News and Rumors

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Comments

By Medionsaturn | February 1st, 2008 at 2:41 pm

Both teams have been underperforming in this tournament so far, with both Ghana and Nigeria making a mountain out of a mole hill over the whipping boys of their groups, so I’m not really sure if this will be a superb match or not, infact it will probably end up quite cagey, but it should make up for it with drama.

Anyway, I think that both teams are similiar really, but I expect Ghana to edge it because host nations always play better than they actually are, and thus should be able to scrape it past Nigeria.

Of course, I’ll be rooting for Ghana aswell as I’m English, as thus have a bias against Bertie Vogts, both for Euro 96, and surprisingly for doing such a rubbish job at Scotland. I don’t know why, as England and Scotland mutually have no sympathy for each other, but still.. I’m going to be rooting for the hosts.