The Black Galaxies of Ghana will face off with Niger in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament today at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran, Algeria.
Ghana’s home-based national team bounced back from their 2-1 defeat against Madagascar in their opening match, to thrash Sudan 3-1 in their subsequent game to qualify to the next stage of the competition.
After progressing to the next stage of the competition courtesy a mélange of luck and good fortune, the Black Galaxies would face the toughest challenge of the competition and must be equal to the task.
Niger snatched the top spot of Group E after showing Cameroon the exit with a 1-0 defeat in their final group game on Tuesday to book a date with Ghana.
The West Africans are also yet to win the competition.
After some dominance at the group stages, they would be determined to cause another upset by beating the former finalists and move closer to silverware.
Moreover, today’s encounter would be the second meeting between the two sides after their first clash in the 2011 edition, where Niger beat Ghana in their final group game.
Ousseni Badamassi and Jerome Ngom Mbekeli would be instrumental in this quest to hand Ghana another defeat.
The Black Galaxies on the other hand, would be up for revenge to give their opponents a taste of their own bitter pills.
Ghana returned to the competition after six years of absence and are set to make a huge mark in this year’s competition.
A victory against Niger would set their ambitions on the right path.
The two-time finalists are also determined to win the competition for the first time.
The Ghanaians would hope to advance to the semi-final of the competition for the third time in four appearances at the CHAN, having done so in 2009 and 2014 where they finished as silver medalists.
However, they are yet to stamp their authority on the competition so far and despite their 3-1 victory against Sudan, they are far from the favourite tag.
Annor Walker’s side received a huge boost ahead of the game with Captain Gladson Awako taking part in training and declared fit for the game, following an injury in the first game.
Again, Kofi Kordzi and Sylvester Simba would have to step up to give their opponents a run for their money.
The winner of the game would face the winner of the encounter between hosts Algeria and Cote d’Ivoire in another cracker waiting to unfold.
BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE
