WAFU Cup: Nigeria Coach Salisu Yusuf talks Ghana-Nigeria rivalry

Head Coach of the home-based Super Eagles Salisu Yusuf has admitted that the big rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana has increased the stake for the meeting between the two countries at the WAFU Championship.

Ghana and Nigeria find themselves in group A together with Mali and Guinea.

Nigeria set up the tie with Ghana after a 2-0 win over Sierra Leone at the Cape Coast Stadium on Monday.

Yusuf has promised that his players will be up for the Black Stars challenge.

“When you talk about a football match between Nigeria and Ghana, it is at a different level,” Yusuf said in a Nigeria Football Federation press release on Tuesday.

“Whether it is a Cup final or a friendly match, both teams give their very best. That is what we are going to do on Thursday, and I am sure the Ghanaians will come to the party with the same mind.

“The victory over Sierra Leone was good for the team. Psychologically, we are now attuned to going all out in every game as we aim to go all the way.”

It is 66 years now that Nigeria and Ghana first clashed in a football match at national team level, with the Nigerians winning 5-0 in a Jalco Cup match in Lagos on 20th October 1951.

Since then there have been high-profile clashes between the two countries at all levels.