Nigeria vs Ghana Prediction & Betting Tips - International Friendlies

Prediction published on 20/03/2024, 09:00  by Nella Wagah | Modified on 22/03/2024 at 04:00 in Football Predictions

African football powerhouses Nigeria and Ghana renew their rivalry in a friendly match slated for Friday at the Stade de Marrakech. With no competitive football in the March international break, this will be the first of two friendlies lined up for the teams. Both nations intend to keep their match sharpness and cohesion ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June. Nigeria are fresh from an impressive 2023 AFCON run where they got to the final but lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast. A late heartbreak saw Nigeria lose out after entering the final as favorites. That loss marked their first defeat in seven matches, and Nigeria will be keen on bouncing back. Though they haven't been scoring a lot lately, their consistency in attack is admirable. The Super Eagles have scored in each of their last 10 matches. However, they managed more than a goal in just one of the games – a 2-0 win over Cameroon. Despite this being a friendly match the Super Eagles have assembled a formidable squad. Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, and fit-again Wilfried Ndidi have all earned call ups.

It has been two years now since these two sides faced off. In 2022 they met in the two-legged CHAN qualifiers, which Ghana won on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate outcome. All the four meetings before the CHAN qualifiers had ended in draws, with just two goals being scored in the process. Here, Ghana start the journey to steady their ship after a disappointing 2023 AFCON campaign. The Black Stars failed to make it past the group stages after failing to win a single match. The disastrous campaign claimed the job of former head coach Chris Hughton who has since been replaced by Otto Addo. In their final group encounter, Ghana surrendered a two goal lead in stoppage time to draw 2-2 with Mozambique. A brace from Jordan Ayew had handed the Black Stars a two goal lead in the game. However, a spotkick from Geny Catamo and a last gasp goal from Reinildo sunk Ghana’s hearts as they exited the competition. That draw marked a fifth straight winless outing for Ghana. Having managed just one win in eight, they may well come here as the underdogs.