Nigeria, Ghana clash in crucial Olympic qualifier
Venue: Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra - Kickoff: 3pm GMT
Lagos, Nigeria - Nigeria and Ghana will clash later Friday (today) in Accra in a crucial qualifying match for the football event of the 2008 Beijing Games.

Nigeria needs at a least a draw in the match to stand any chance of qualifying for the games from the African qualifying group A, which includes South Africa.

Pool A leaders Black Meteors must win because Nigeria have a game in hand, taking on bottom side South Africa in Pool A's final qualifier next March.

"For me and my colleagues, this is a very important game as it is a clear decider," Asamoah Gyan, who also represents the Black Stars, told BBC Sport.

Gyan, playing out of a sense of duty for his homeland, will lead the charge for Ghana, who became the first African team to win an Olympic medal when taking bronze in 1992.

Nigerian football authorities are taking the match very seriously, especially since the 'Dream Team', as the country's Under-23 team is known, missed the last Olympics in Athens.

Coach Samson Siasia named only six home-based players into his team, which is dominated by abroad-based professionals.

The 19-member team left for Accra Wednesday, after three weeks of camping in preparation for the match, which has rekindled the age-old football rivalry between the two nations.

Ghana lead Pool A, which only has three teams, with 6 points while Nigeria, who have played a game less, boast four - three more than bottom side South Africa.

The winners of the three African qualifying groups will qualify for the games