Black Stars, Super Eagles face-off in Unity Cup tourney
Ghana Black Stars will face-off with the Super Eagles of Nigeria today at the GTech Community Stadium in Brentford, England in the 2025 edition of the Unity Cup.
Ghana lost 2-1 to Nigeria in the previous edition, a result Otto Addo would hope to overturn despite missing the services of some of his key players.
Reports from England indicated that 16 players took part in Ghana’s first training for the four-nation tournament held in West London on Monday with six more expected to join by press time yesterday.
Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Tetteh Anang, Gideon Mensah, Razak Simpson, Mamudu Kamaradini, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Salis Samed, Abu Francis and Majeed Ashimeru were among those who trained on Monday.
The rest were Lawrence Agyekum, Christopher Baah Bonsu, Jordan Ayew, Stephan Ambrosius, Brandon-Thomas Asante, and Kwame Opoku and Abdul Aziz Issah.
They have been joined by Ebenezer Annan, Mohammed Salisu, Aaron Essel, Ibrahim Sulemana, Felix Afena Gyan, and Mohammed Gadafi Fuseini.
What this mean is that Coach Addo would miss the services of Kudus Mohammed, Thomas Partey, Alexander Djiku and few others.
But the absence of these top performers may be a blessing in disguise for a few who have been left out after a few tries and debutants knocking on the door of the team.
Notable among them is Afena Gyan who was tipped to take over from the former captain of the team, Asamoah Gyan.
After his explosive start to life, he went quiet, struggling to maintain a starting place in the Black Stars.
There are others who would also be hoping for a good debut shine against Ghana biggest rival at the continental level.
The Nigerians have also released a seemingly formidable side in a bid to protect the result against the Black Stars in the previous edition to secure the bragging rights.
But just like Ghana, the Super Eagles would also miss some top players including Victor Osimhen, and Alex Iwobi.
That notwithstanding, Coach Eric Chelle would have the services of defender, Felix Agu, midfielders, Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon, Nathan Tella and Cyriel Dessers.
It promises to be exciting and uncompromising despite being a mere friendly.
The Unity Cup is a four-nation tournament featuring Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago.
The winner of the Ghana-Nigeria match will proceed to the final on Saturday, May 31.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
