Ghana coach Didi Dramani has issued a bold statement ahead of today’s crucial African Nations Championship qualifier against Nigeria’s Super Eagles B in Uyo, insisting his Black Galaxies will find the back of the net, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Ghanaians, who arrived in Uyo on Friday morning after a goalless first leg in Accra, are looking to qualify for CHAN ahead of Nigeria for the second consecutive time.
“As much as possible, we will try to keep a clean sheet, but I want to believe that we will surely score. We will score, we will open up something,” Dramani said after their final training session.
“I control the energy, the effort, I control the performance (of my boys), but the results, we don’t control it.”
The match, scheduled for 4pm at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, will determine which team advances to the 2024 CHAN tournament in East Africa.
History favours the Black Galaxies, who have dominated their CHAN encounters with Nigeria, winning two and drawing three of their six previous meetings.
Ghana won 3-2 in Accra in 2008 and 2-0 in 2022, while also progressing via penalties after a goalless semi-final draw at the 2014 tournament in South Africa.
The Eagles B, under stand-in coach Daniel Ogunmodede, must avoid a scoring draw and secure victory to reach their first CHAN finals since 2018.
Moroccan official Hamza El Fariq will referee the match, with compatriots Abdessamad Abertoune and Zakaria Bouchtaoui serving as assistant referees. Prince Kai Saquee from Sierra Leone will be the match commissioner.
The winner will advance to the eighth edition of the tournament, scheduled for February 1-28, 2025, across Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
