CHAN
Remo Stars’ trio, Bankole, Ezekiel Edidiong and Qudus Akanni make the cut to face Costa Rica World Cup
Head Coach Salisu Yusuf has picked Remo Stars goalkeeper Kayode Bankole, Ezekiel Edidiong and Qudus Akanni among the 18-man Nigerian squad to face Qatar 2022-bound Costa Rica in an international friendly in San Jose next week.
Also in the squad is utility player, Dominion Ohaka and midfielder Afeez Nosiru.
The Super Eagles will confront the Senior National Team of Costa Rica in a prestigious international friendly in the country’s capital on 9th November. NFF’s FIFA Match Agent, Jairo Pachon of Eurodata Sport told thenff.com that the three-time African champions have been invited to the central American nation as part of major activities to send forth the Los Ticos to the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar.
Yusuf picked goalkeepers Bankole and Nathaniel Nwosu (U23 team first choice), defenders Daniel Bameyi, Chidiebere Nwobodo and Evans Ogbonda, midfielders Nosiru and Qudus Akanni and forwards Sunday Faleye and Edidiong Ezekiel, among others.
The game, scheduled for the National Stadium in San Jose, will kick off at 8pm Costa Rica time on Wednesday, 9th November (which is 3am, 10th November in Nigeria).
The Nigeria team has been training at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan for the past week, and is scheduled to fly out of the country to Costa Rica on Saturday, 5th November.
EAGLES FOR COSTA RICA
Kayode Bankole, Nathaniel Nwosu, Daniel Bameyi, Samuel Kalu, Chidiebere Nwobodo, Mustapha Jibrin, Evans Ogbonda, Afeez Nosiru, Samson Paul, Daniel Wotlai, Ezekiel Edidiong, Dominion Ohaka, Qudus Akanni, Shina Akinniran, Sunday Faleye, Jerry Alex, Isaiah Ejeh, Suleiman Garba
Ghana and Nigeria are paired together for the third time in the qualifying series for the African Nations Championship. They had met in the 2009 and the 2022 series. The aggregate results were in Ghana’s favour.
First in the 2009 qualifiers, Nigeria squandered a 2-0 first-half lead in Accra and lost 3-2. But going into the return leg played in Calabar, they could not score a goal that could have seen them through on away goal rule as they ended the match 0-0.
In the last edition, Nigeria for the 2023 edition, Nigeria lost 2-0 in Accra but levelled up in Abuja after a late 2-0 win. But in the eventual penalty shoot-out, the Nigerian team lost 5-4.
Will they overcome Ghana this time?
There will be no qualifying series for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in North Africa. This is sequel to the withdrawal of Algeria and Egypt.
With the region entitled to three teams, the remaining three – Morocco, Tunisia and Libya qualify automatically.
The age-long rivalry has again been rekindled as the draw for the 2025 African Nations Championship has pitched Ghana and Nigeria together.
Both teams have a rivalry that dates back to 1951 and will have a confrontation that determines which country will qualify for the tournament which is opened only to domestic players.
It is also a measure of the relative strength of the domestic leagues of the countries. Ghana and Nigeria will play just in the second round of the West Africa Zone B qualifier while Togo and Benin will the first round and the winner play against Niger Republic.
The rivalry of Nigeria and Ghana has gone beyond sports, especially in football, It extends to the culinary industry as each claims to be better in the cooking of Jollof rice, hence the ‘Jollof Rice’ controversy.
In another West Africa Zone B qualifiers, Cote d’Ivoire will face Burkina Faso. The first round of qualifiers will be played on the weekend of 25 – 27 October and 01 – 03 November 2024, with the second round confirmed for 20 – 22 December and 27 – 29 December 2024.
Three nations qualify for the tournament from each zone except the East, where one country qualifies with co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Finals to be played from Feb 1-28, 2025 in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kampala.
North Region
Libya, Morocco and Tunisia qualify automatically
West A region
First Round
- Sierra Leone v Liberia
Second Round
- Sierra Leone or Liberia v Senegal (holders)
Mauritania v Mali
Guinea v Guinea-Bissau
West B region
First Round
Togo v Benin
Second Round
Togo or Benin v Niger
Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso
Ghana v Nigeria
Central region
Second Round
Equatorial Guinea v Congo Brazzaville
Central African Republic v Cameroon
Chad v Democratic Republic of Congo
East region
First Round
Burundi v Somalia
Ethiopia v Eritrea
Sudan v Tanzania (co-hosts)
South Sudan v Kenya (co-hosts)
Djibouti v Rwanda
Second Round
Burundi or Somalia v Uganda (co-hosts)
Ethiopia or Eritrea v Sudan or Tanzania
South Sudan or Kenya v Djibouti or Rwanda
South region
First Round
Zimbabwe v Eswatini
Lesotho v Namibia
Second Round
Zimbabwe or Eswatini v Madagascar
Lesotho or Namibia v Angola
Mozambique v Zambia
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