The Head Coach of Nigeria’s junior national team, Daniel Ogunmodede, has said that his side was fortunate not to concede a goal in their goalless draw game against Ghana in the 2025 CHAN qualifiers.
He explained that the Ghanaian players played quite well and dominated the game, which put a lot of pressure on the Nigerian team, but they were able to endure.
Speaking to the media after the game, Ogunmodede noted that his team will work on their shortcomings to enable them to secure qualification for the CHAN tournament.
“Considering the rivalry between the two countries, Nigeria and Ghana, in terms of football, maybe most prominently football and music, we know how tough it could be whenever we meet on the stage. Considering the fact that they are also playing at home, having an advantage to themselves to play on their soil.
"At the end, I think we are lucky and satisfied with the result we came out with. We will go back and try to build on our attack, our clinicality. We had a couple of chances today but we were not clinical enough,” he said.
The Black Galaxies of Ghana drew goalless against Nigeria in the 2025 CHAN qualifiers at the Accra Sports Stadium on December 22, 2024.
Head coach Didi Dramani brought on Jerry Afriyie and Derrick Fordjour to make an impact and get the needed goal, but that plan did not materialize as they could not penetrate the Nigerian defense to break the deadlock.
The Black Galaxies must win the second leg, which will be hosted in Nigeria on December 28, 2024, to stand a chance of qualifying for the main tournament.
The 2025 CHAN tournament will be hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, where the B teams of various national teams will battle for honors.
Watch as Nigeria coach applauds his players for securing draw against Ghana
SB/AE