By Dayo Awoniyi
The highly anticipated rivalry between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the Black Stars of Ghana is set to be rekindled in an international friendly scheduled for England during the June international break.
The Super Eagles will first face Russia in another friendly before taking on Ghana. This marks their second encounter with the Black Stars in 2024, following a 2-1 victory in a friendly match in Morocco in March.
Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Eric Chelle, sees the match against Ghana as a key preparation for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with crucial fixtures against Rwanda and South Africa scheduled for September. With Nigeria’s qualification hopes still in the balance, Chelle is looking to fine-tune his team’s tactics and build momentum ahead of the qualifiers.
The clash with Ghana will also serve as a critical test for the Super Eagles, who are eager to prove their mettle against a strong Ghanaian side currently leading their own World Cup qualifying group.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
