Nigeria face Ghana in Brazzaville 2015 tie

Coach of the U-23 team, Samson Siasia
Nigeria’s U-23 team will battle bitter rivals Ghana in their
opening game of the men’s football event of the 2015 All Africa
Games in Congo on Wednesday, the same day African
champions Super Falcons play Tanzania in their second group
game.
The Group B game between Nigeria and Ghana’s men’s teams
is billed for the Stade Municipal de Kintélé, Brazzaville. While it
is the U-23 team’s first game, it is defending champions
Ghana’s second. The Black Meteors were held to a 0-0 draw by
Senegal on Sunday.
Nigeria, winners of the football event in 1973, had to wait until
Wednesday for their first match, after their first group opponents
Egypt withdrew on the eve of the tournament.
Coach Samson Siasia will be without some of his key players for
the event. The AAG is not part of the FIFA international
calendar, which means clubs need not release players and this
rule has hit Nigeria hard.
Among those who will be missing is new Liverpool signing
Taiwo Awoniyi, whose brace in a 2-1 victory over Zambia in
Lusaka helped Nigeria qualify for Congo, alongside Godwin
Saviour and AC Madeira’s Shehi Abdullahi, who were not
released by their clubs.
“We are going for gold. What else do you think we are going
after? Preparations were not good because clubs refused to
release players, but I am very hopeful of a successful outcome
in Brazzaville,” Siasia told Yahoo News.
He will be banking on dangerous striker Junior Ajayi and Turkey-
based Aminu Umar, to wreak havoc on opposing defences.
Both countries have met at this level four times, with Nigeria
winning twice, losing once and held once.
Incidentally, the last time both sides clashed was in a 2011 AAG
qualifier. Nigeria won the first leg 3-1 in Benin City, but crashed
out after losing the return fixture 2-0 in Kumasi.
Meanwhile, Group A leaders Falcons are hoping to continue their
quest to claim the gold medal of the event, with another victory
over the Tanzanians. Four goals from striker Desire Oparanozie
and another from Chinasa Uchendu helped Falcons to a
comfortable 5-1 win over hosts Congo on Sunday.
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