Nigeria’s six-year absence from the Championship of African Nations, CHAN, came to an end after a clinical outing by the Super Eagles on Saturday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
Remo Stars duo of Sodiq Ismail and Nduka Junior were among the goals, as well as Rangers midfield maestro, Saviour Isaac to propel Nigeria to a 3-1 win over Ghana to seal qualification for the showpiece set for Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania between February 1 and 28, 2025.
In the build up to the game, head coach Daniel Ogunmodede promised the team would score goals despite settling for a goalless draw in Accra, and they did exactly that on Saturday night.
“You want goals, they’re gonna score”.
Those were the exact words of “Ijaball” and his boys took care of the assignment in less than half an hour into the game.
The goals would come in the 18th minute when Nduka Junior located Sodiq Ismail with a long pass. The latter finished with so much calmness to put the Eagles ahead.
Nduka then turned scorer when he expertly drilled home from inside the box with his inside right in the 21st minute.
Relentless, Saviour Isaac made sure of the win in the 25th minute, rounding Ghana shot stopper Benjamin Asare to slot into an empty net with his left foot.
Stephen Amankona’s 73rd minute strike only gave the Black Galaxies a lifeline, but the Eagles stayed strong to see out the game and return Nigeria to the championship for the first time since their second-placed finish at the 2018 edition in Morocco, a night to forget as the Moroccans won 4-0.
